The Change-Up5 stars out of 5
When I went into the theater to see the Change-Up, I thought "Hey, why not? It's free" but i didn't have any expectations that i would actually enjoy myself. I've seen the body switch movie done many times over, and done in many ways. The most famous versions are the actioner Face-Off and the various versions of Disney comedy Freaky Friday.
I have seen many recent comedies including the hit the Hangover (same writers as the Change-Up) and while the Hangover was a hit, i didn't find it as funny as many others did. The Change-Up, however, is comedy done right. The comedy is both sophistocated and raunchy, and there were cetainly some gross out moments, but overall, the movie was jus a blast.
Jason Bateman(Dave Lockwood) and Ryan Reynolds (Mitch Planko) shined as best friends walking two different roads in life. They both got their share of laughs, and they played sucessfully off of each other. Leslie Mann was also great, and has some genuine funny moments as Dave's wife Jamie. I also have to give some props to young Sydney Rouviere whose limited scenes had me roaring as Dave's young Daughter Cara.
The rest of the cast was great as well. I did have some concerns about the creepy children playing Dave and Jamie's youngest, twins Peter and Sara (Luke and Lauren Bain). They had some funny moments, but overall they were a little creepy. If you see the movie, you'll see what i mean.
I certainly don't want to spoil it for you, but this movie had some great surprise funny moments, but it also had its serious moments - especially at the end when reality sinks in and Mitch and Dave realize what we all know they're going to realize - that they want their own lives back.
In the end it was a great surprise with a great cast and many laughs. At times, the entire theater was laughing. At the end, I was sorry this was over, and this is one movie I'll be catching again on DVD.
