The change-up

A somewhat depressing glance into the (hopefully simplified) mentality of the male sex, The Change-Up sees womanising waster Dave (Ryan Reynolds) and straight-laced family man Mitch (Jason Bateman) switch bodies, and essentially use their powers to, well, get some. Crude, rude and crass, The Change-Up subverts the usually sweet and family friendly body-switch formula to create a gross-out slapstick comedy. But though there is something refreshing about seeing these characters take full sleazy advantage of their situation, there’s nothing particularly refreshing about the film as a whole, which remains in a consistently amusing but unchallenging lull.

Neither Dave nor Mitch are particularly likeable characters – workaholic Mitch neglects his wife, and aside from his philandering, racist and homophobic phrases fall from Dave’s mouth with the ease of Mel Gibson. Much like The Hangover, The Change-Up relies on the amiability and comic timing of his actors to endear these dysfunctional characters to the audience, and the two leads put their strengths on autopilot, with Bateman’s dry wit and Reynolds’ mischievous charm elevating endless jokes about Dave’s favourite sexual positions and Mitch’s revolting nappy-changing escapades.

Just about saving The Change-Up from becoming an irredeemably offensive mess of bathroom humour and Frankie Boyle-esque one-liners is its awareness of the immaturity of its characters. Unlike films like The Ugly Truth which purport feelgood romance and empowerment while harbouring a deep and disturbing disdain for women, The Change-Up acknowledges that its characters are pathetic, self-centred and immature individuals. By using characters that genuinely do need an attitude change, their predictable “grass isn’t always greener” euphonies is imbued with vague sentiment, thanks in no small part to Leslie Mann. As Mitch’s wife, she is the underused emotional heart of the film, and strikes the balance between sentimentality and sass in a way the film does not.
With precious few other decent comedies to switch with this month, you could do worse.