The Change-Up

Two good comedic actors wallow in the muck for nearly two hours and almost make that muck digestible. Ryan Reynolds plays a playboy and Jason Bateman plays his best friend, a tightly wound lawyer with three kids. They go out for a night of drinking, and while pissing in a fountain together—as guys so often do—they wish they had each other’s lives. They switch bodies, which gives each actor the chance to perform the other actor’s mannerisms. Reynolds has more to work with here, and he quite successfully captures Bateman’s tendency to repeat the ends of sentences. Bateman is simply asked to curse a lot because we heard the Reynolds character cursing up a storm before the body switch. The two guys learn valuable lessons about life … blah, blah, blah. Lots of poo jokes, scary sex stuff and basic vulgarity don’t add up to a good time. Director David Dobkin made Wedding Crashers—but he also made the lousy Fred Claus. This one is closer to Fred Claus.