User reviews

This movie is not your typical change bodies movie. Justin Bateman & Ryan Reynolds were hilarious & you could tell they had fun making the movie. The language & nudity fit the R rating,but this added to the movie. Definitely adult theme & a little over the top,but I did enjoy this. Olivia Wilde was great and also was Leslie Mann. The baby twins of Justin Bateman were really funny & the scenes were a total surprise. Worth renting, will make you laugh out loud & like the characters. The movie did drag a little in the middle,but did make up for it with the gags. I really like the chemistry of Justin Bateman & Ryan Reynolds. Justin Bateman is so subtle in his comedy.

In Atlanta, Dave Lockwood (Jason Bateman) is an efficient and dedicated lawyer that expects to be promoted to partner of the law firm where he has been working for ten years after a merging operation and a family man, married with the gorgeous Jamie Lockwood (Leslie Mann) and father of three children. His best friend is the aspirant actor Mitch Planko (Ryan Reynolds), who is single, reckless and unemployed, and a quitter that never concludes what he is doing.

One night, Dave and Mitch drink a lot and they go to a fountain to pee and they both simultaneously wish to have the life of the other. On the next morning, they wake up and discover that they had switched bodies. They return to the square and find that the fountain has moved to an unknown place. Therefore, Mitch needs to become responsible to save the job and the promotion of his friend, while Dave feels how complicated is for him to date with his sexy and gorgeous colleague Sabrina McArdle (Olivia Wilde). Sooner they learn more about themselves and also that the life of the other is not as good and they believe it could be.

"The Change-Up" is an entertaining film with an overworked, but always funny storyline. I do not recall how many comedies I have seen with two persons switching bodies, but I always laugh a lot. "The Change-up" is no exception, especially with the hilarious Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman and Leslie Mann and the gorgeous Olivia Wilde, one of the most beautiful actresses that I have recently seen.

There are particularly two (gross) scenes that I repeated many times since I could not stop laughing: when Dave is cleaning his baby and trying to reach the diaper and when Mitch is in Dave's body and sees the half-naked Jamie going to the bathroom. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Eu Queria Ter a Sua Vida" ("I Wish I Had Your Life")

An unoriginal plot with clichés throughout are forgiven in what is ultimately a feel-good comedy. Bateman and Reynolds have great chemistry, and whilst not groundbreaking, a funny film.

Without even seeing it, some people have bashed this film because of it's unoriginal concept. That's true. It has been done before. You can think of it as Freaky Friday... except with dudes and really amped up! From the first few minutes the movie was crude and vulgar... and absolutely hilarious! But what else is to be expected when two mega forces in comedy come together? David Dobkin, the director of Wedding Crashers, and Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the writers of The Hangover... just an awesome combination that really paid off on screen! Of course, I can't forget to mention the incredibly funny cast that worked so well together: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde... even Alan Arkin is in there! The writing is funny, but the comedic timing and performances were just so perfect and what truly made the film hilarious! The story focuses on two childhood pals, Mitch (Reynolds), who dropped out of high school to become an actor and is just a promiscuous mess, and Dave (Bateman), who has worked hard all his life to be a successful lawyer, has a wonderful family and is close to making partner at his firm. One night, though, while going out and catching up after being vacant from one another's lives for a brief time, they get to talking about their lives and drunkenly wish they could take a walk in the other's shoes, but be careful what you wish for when you are pissing in a magic fountain... The next morning the two awake to discover that they have switched bodies. And, although, after freaking out they begin to explore this new freedom, they soon learn that the escape from their normal lives isn't as glorious as they had imagined and begin looking for a way to return to their rightful bodies.

Despite being wildly hilarious, the film also weaves in some very subtle moments that back up the comedy with a great heart. I recently saw that the general view of the critics is "Skip it!" which was enough to tell you how good the film actually is, but having, now, seen it myself... I say you'd be crazy to miss out on it. True, it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for someone like me who loves a good R-rated comedy, it's definitely worth going to. In a way, it plays out in the way that made Knocked Up and Wedding Crashers work so well: the outrageous and often crude comedic material overpowers to make a great comedy, but it also has those great tender moments that balance out the film and really carry the story.

Ok yes the basic plot has been used in various movies, but for me this one stood out a bit more.

It's funny, clever, witty and emotional if you let yourself just relax and enjoy the film.

Mann as always plays her part perfectly with just the right amount of sass.

Reynolds brings his usual quirky humour to the table.

Bateman, always relaxes me! In a good way. He let's the viewer trust in his acting and freely enjoy the character for what it is.

Enjoyable sub characters and premise.

I would recommend this to you if you want an easy going film with familiar faces. Something to watch and chill out to! Go watch it!

I like the idea of this movie, the casting is great and everybody is doing his/her job. I had few laughs and as I have written above, if you like comedies and have some time to kill, this is a good choice.

However, I think that they could have played a little bit more with the script. At the beginning, we are "told" that Mitch's life is great and Dave's not so much. Of course, a viewer with an average intelligence knows that things are not always as they seem. However, I think that in the end Mitch's life was portrayed really negatively and all perks and good moments in the "Mitch's body" had to be created by Dave himself. What I mean is that writers could have maybe worked a little bit more on Mitch's character.

Out of all the reviews I read it seems that no one enjoys a good R rated comedy anymore. What happened to the days when everyone kept it simple. This movie made me laugh a lot from start to end. There was a lot of harsh language in this movie BUT! it was done very well. So many funny parts in the movie. I did not find myself bored at anytime in this film. I watched this movie in the hopes to enjoy myself and laugh till my sides hurt and it did just that. One of the better R rated profane comedies I've seen in the last few years. So many comedies have came out rated PG-13 the last few years and many of them was just plain dull.

If you enjoy adult humor this is a movie you will like. This movie IS NOT for children lol.

If you do not enjoy adult humor why are you here? Don't review or even rate it ffs go back and watch smurfs or whatever.

I don't say it is good but i have enjoyed it , this is a typical american comedy plot, actually it remids me 17 again film but story contain one simple difference , it tells us how to enjoy your life, intend to the following money

Oh, the body-swap comedy. You know how it starts, you know how it ends and frankly, you know most of what's in between. To name an R-rated buddy version of this formula "The Change-Up" is essentially serving up a thick slice of irony, yet somehow "The Hangover" writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore and "Wedding Crashers" director David Dobkin manage to change just enough to prevent predictability from drowning their film entirely.

The film starts neck deep, however. Jason Bateman's character Dave wakes up bright and early thanks to his newborn twins, one of which projectile poos all over his face. Gross-out humor might be one of the worst ways to start a modern comedy, but somehow "The Change-Up" manages to recover thanks to a strong cast and writing that works when it's not trying too hard to be funny.

Dave and Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) are old friends with opposite lifestyles that predictably wish they could have what the other has. Dave has been an achiever all through his life and never stopped to enjoy himself in the ways of drugs and women, for example. That would be typical bachelor Mitch's life. Mitch, on the other hand, would love for even a modicum of success and stability. Plug in a magic fountain activated by two different simultaneous urine streams and voila — body-swapping comedy.

Thus begins the journey of the two friends toward the inevitable learning not to take for granted the lives they have. To be fair, Lucas and Moore write in some scenes that break convention. Early on, for example, there's the scene when they try and convince Dave's wife (Leslie Mann) that they've switched bodies by telling her to ask Dave (in Mitch's body) a question only he would know. Seen that before, right? Rather than she predictably believing them, things take a comic turn when Dave reveals a very private detail about her.

When "The Change-Up" isn't forcing in Farrelly brothers-inspired gross-out humor, it's a decent comedy. For one, the writing from a non-jokes standpoint has surprising strength. At several moments the film goes down some more dramatic side streets that feel natural because the characters have just enough depth for us to care. Mann's performance in particular helps this along — she's far from the typical mother/wife figure in a buddy comedy.

By establishing a bit of a routine in that Mitch in Dave's body must try and prevent Dave's law firm's merger from falling through while also balancing a family life and Dave in Mitch's body must simply get laid in a strange matter of ways, the story doesn't spiral out of control. The focus stays mostly on Mitch in Dave's body as he's the significantly less shallow character with more going on. Bateman takes advantage, transforming himself with a terrific number of quirks, which he's done so well in his career. On a number of occasions, however, the way you'd expect a character to behave and how they actually behave don't match up, which definitely hurts the ability to get caught up in the story, but there's a logic to the sequence of events and as such, natural jokes evolve that counteract the bad ones to some extent.

Somehow the writing manages to hit on points of sentimentality as well. Despite the inevitability of the outcomes, the story arcs of the characters make good use of this tired concept as they drift from hating the change to embracing it to the realization that they truly appreciate their own lives. Some thought definitely went into character motivation, otherwise we'd feel nothing. Dobkin captured the same thing in "Wedding Crashers," but the difference here is obviously the novelty factor. As such, a film can never outrun predictability. It can be taken advantage of as best as the talents involved possibly can, but it always wins.

~Steven C

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Thanks to the fine people at Klout.com, I was able to get to see a rough cut of the movie "The Change-Up" starring Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, and Leslie Mann (she of Apatow fame.) Hilarious. Much MUCH better than I expected. Of course, this is the type of film better seen with a filled theater.

Of course it's a hard 'R' for vulgarity, nudity, and everything you expect in a sex-themed comedy. The trailers don't shy away from that.

One always expects great comedic timing from the likes of Reynolds and Bateman. However, in these roles they truly do something different. Bateman gets to be the raunchy one. He finally gets to let loose. Reynolds holds back as the straight-laced guy who's more of a thinker.

Leslie Mann was the true surprise in the film. I hope Judd Apatow watches this "The Change-Up" and realizes one thing; THIS is how you write for/use your wife in your films. Leslie can act! She takes the otherwise tiresome 'wife' role and turns it into something a little deeper.

Olivia Wilde plays the unfortunate part of 'that girl.' She's not there to serve much purpose throughout the flick, but her story is summed up nicely. But sweet merciful GOD does she look fantastic with very dark hair! Anyway, it's a great flick. I suggest you go see it, you'll enjoy it. It's not your typical "body swap" movie (ala "Freaky Friday," "Vice Versa," "Like Father, Like Son.") plus I believe it has more heart than any of those three.

'THE CHANGE-UP': Three Stars (Out of Five)

It's not the 80's anymore and Hollywood is still making body changing movies! If you had to make one though who better to cast in it than Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman (two of my favorite actors)?! A movie where Reynolds is an unemployed slacker pothead and Bateman is a work obsessed family man who switch bodies actually doesn't sound that bad. It is pretty bad still though for the first half of it's running length. Despite having two of the best funny men in the business, most of the jokes fall a little flat for almost all of the film's setup (Reynolds and Bateman do manage to squeeze some laughs out of the mostly dull material though). Then when the film gets to the cheesy stuff, the heart of the film and the real character development, it actually starts to work! The directing gets a little better, the performances start to shine through and the writing begins to polish itself out. It takes half a film to get there but 'THE CHANGE-UP' is mostly worth the effort.

The film is directed by David Dobkin (who also directed the popular buddy films 'WEDDING CRASHERS' and 'SHANGHAI KNIGHTS'). It's written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (part of the team behind 'THE HANGOVER'). All of the ingredients are there for the perfect juvenile male bonding adventure but I think the 'body switching' formula kind of dooms the film a little from the start (at least in the start). It revolves around two best friends, Mitch (Reynolds) and Dave (Bateman), who have grown apart due to their lives taking vastly different paths. Both men envy the other though and when they wish for each other's lives while pissing in a fountain one night their wishes come true. Leslie Mann (otherwise known as Mrs. Apatow) and Olivia Wilde co-star as the men's two love interests, one is Dave's wife and the other is his co-worker. Things of course get very complicated and trouble ensues (which then of course leads to emotional evolvement and surprisingly strong character growth).

The film really does make you care for it's two lead characters and watching their emotional growth does really work. That's thanks in part to the directing and somewhat well written screenplay but more so Reynold's and Bateman's performances (I think). They've proved that they not only have a knack for comedic timing but also dramatic chops when given the right material as well. With this film when the drama kicks in the comedy also picks up and flows better. At first the jokes are pretty standard and overused (they're also extremely crude and disturbing) but as the characters start to get more interesting and involving the jokes get funnier and more meaningful as well. If you're a Ryan Reynolds or Jason Bateman fan (or a fan of body switching movies) you'll almost certainly enjoy this film at least some what, despite it's rocky take off.

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Ryan Reynolds is so badly cast as a vulgar and narcissistic cretin that he seems no less awkward when he's supposed to have Jason Bateman's personality than he is as himself. Body switching movies are supposed to have unbelievable premises but peeing in a fountain?!!? Poor Leslie Mann has to undergo every indignity a woman can - the farting scene is just gross. And, of course, we have to have the now-obligatory scene were liquid poop geysers out of the baby's rear 8 feet up in the air aat a 45 degree angle! I could go on and on but is there any point in doing so?

If somebody saying you're freaking stupid and you're freaking ugly too strikes you as funny and if a baby with a knife and a baby trying to electrocute himself is your idea of funny, then see this movie. If you can believe that Olivia Wilde graduated law school at the top of her class and you think it's funny to see an 8-months pregnant nymphomaniac get made tro feel ashamed of herself, then this film is for you. And just for a total non-sequitur, out of left field, insensitive dropout and soft porn star Ryan Reynolds in Jason Bateman's body suddenly gets all sensitive about an anti-semitic remark (also totally out of cxontext) by Bateman's boss. Oh yeah, Alan Arkin (in a role that has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the gross-out movie) plays Reynolds Jewish father!

It's a body-switching comedy - it's supposed to be unrealistic but so internally inconsistent? So gross, one after another, afcter another? The fabulously talented Ryan Reynolds should sue hisMann agent for this one. He is titally a fish out of the water. Leslie is married to Judd Apatow so I suppose she's used to the indignities - but she still deserves better. Jason Bateman still seems to be doing Arrested Development meets Couples Retreat so he's more at home in this dysfunctional movie than anyone else (except Craig Bierko in a hilarious soft porn sendup) but that's praising with faint damns.

For me, it's the worst Hollywood-budget movie of the 21st century I've been subjected to thus far.

"Growing up we both had dreams. Dave wanted to be an astronaut, I wanted to sell dolphins on the black market. But found thats hard to do. We live in Atlanta... dolphins are hard to find..." When single Mitch (Reynolds) and married with children Dave (Bateman) go out they begin talking about each others lives. Both feel like the other one has a better life, then they take a pee. When they wake up the fun begins. Going in I was hoping for a few laughs, mainly because I think the two actors are hilarious. The first half hour was hard to watch, because I was laughing so hard my side hurt and I was crying. Not since "Wedding Crashers" was I blown away by the comedy that I was not expecting. By that I mean not only the extreme shocking moments, but the timing between the two and the dialog was so funny that I haven't had this much fun watching a movie in a long time. The only bad thing I have to say about this movie is that it started off on a full run but turned a little more sappy at the end. On the flip side, that part balanced out the rest of it just enough to give your cheeks and side a break. This is a definite R rated comedy that men and women will both love. That is hard to do. I loved it a lot. Overall, next to "Hall Pass" the funniest movie I have seen since "Wedding Crashers". This movie will not disappoint. I give it an A.

Would I watch again? - Absolutely. I want to buy this.

*Also try - Hall Pass & Wedding Crashers

Yes, it's all been done before. I just love Reynolds and Bateman and they're doing a pretty good job here considering the weak material, and that's probably why I'm giving this a 6/10 instead of a 5. If you really have nothing else to watch go for it otherwise I'd probably skip it.

Although I am a big fan of Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman, you can see here two very likable, comedic actors putting in a lot of energy and effort still need good writing.

The Change-Up is not even close to being as funny as The Hangover written by the same team. The plot is the well-worn body switching device where the lead characters find out they actually prefer their own life (i.e. Body). Even if I overlook the unoriginal premise, the jokes don't get beyond obvious situational set-ups. I have no problem with nudity and foul language, but it seems forced almost every time it is presented in the film.

This is a movie you simply watch on your streaming service because Reynolds and Bateman are fun to watch. No more, no less.

The summer of 2011 has been ruled by R-rated comedies loosely based on raunch with very rewarding stories ("Bridesmaids" "Paul" "Horrible Bosses"). Therefore, "The Change-Up" had a lot to live up to with Jason Bateman taking control of the comedy genre this year and Ryan Reynolds returning to his forte after "The Green Lantern" flop. With this being said, "The Change-Up" was the mindless, uninspired, fulfilled film of the summer, relying solely on going above and beyond the usual limits of blunt humor and rallying with a fulfilling emotional finish. This grownup application of the "Freaky Friday" phenomenon follows best friends Dave Lockwood (Bateman) and Mitch Planko (Reynolds) who have drifted apart over the years. Dave has always been a workaholic allowing him to become a rich successful lawyer with a beautiful wife, Jamie (Leslie Mann, "Funny People"), and three kids. Mitch is the complete opposite with a very laid back life style as an aspiring actor who smokes weed and lives off one night stands. As the two reconnect with a night full of drinking and peeing in a fountain they wish that they had each other's lives. Nothing logical happens at this point as lightning strikes causing Dave and Mitch to experience the other's life. Starting with an hour of laugh out loud vulgar comedy and ending with an emotional wakeup call to what is important in life, the film is all over the place. However, everything seems to come together as Olivia Wilde ("Cowboys and Aliens") tops this male-comedy flick off with some good old sexiness.

Both Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are outrageous with their portrayals of Mitch mixing cursing and sporadic randomness. The ridiculousness of Mitch is offset by calmer comedy found in Dave trying to find himself within his self-reliant role he is stuck in. This is offset even further by a very dramatic performance by Leslie Mann, who is legitimately, scarily and realistically good as a mother wanting her husband to give her attention. Lastly, Olivia Wilde deserves a nod for her satisfyingly sensual performance sexier than ever.

Please prepare yourself and know what you are getting into when going to see this film. The R-rating is rightfully earned with crudity abound and some jokes based on sore subjects. This film is not for everybody and when it comes down to it, the film is all over the place. The film lacks some fluidity as the emotional ending is set up slowly within the extreme continuous comedy in a very predictable manner. Ultimately, neither the comedy routine nor the storyline brings anything fresh to the adult comedy genre making this film only average.

A bellyful of laughs at the start, and an offbeat emotional conclusion awkwardly works in this late summer comedy even though we have seen all of this before and are better off hitting up the three aforementioned comedies for entertainment.

Love this movie! Just wanted to say to the people writing reviews, his name is Jason Bateman, not Justin!! Really?? Buy it, you'll love it. Jason and Ryan are great and work together so well. I haven't seen the theatrical version, just the unrated so can't compare, but loved it. There is a lot of potty mouth in this movie, but I think it added to the hilarity and wouldn't have been the same without it, but may offend some I suppose. I'm so not easily offended so I was crackin up. I've never left a movie review before, but the people leaving a review without getting the main actors name right really irritated me. If you are going to take the time to write a review and give credit to a talented actor at least get the name right. How offensive to get Jason's name wrong!

Film with a fairly banal idea and already seen but with a masterful acting interpretation. The film has many nice and funny points and many also deep and reasoning, too bad for the blunders that there are in some points that impoverish the film a bit.

Well, the cast looks good enough, and it bills itself as a comedy. However, for some reason, Hollywood still hasn't received the message that not EVERY person wants to hear a never-ending bombardment of foul language. Am I a prude? Nope. But if you took out "f#@$" (rhymes with "luck") out of the script, the movie would be maybe 15 minutes long.

It was with great disappointment that only 40 minutes into it, we could no longer stand to listen to it. The humor was often gross-out humor, like the father getting feces in his mouth from changing the baby's diaper, peeing in a public fountain, and other "high-end" stuff like that. I found myself going fairly quickly from looking forward to the comedy (misnamed, for sure) to being uncomfortable, to being completely repulsed.

The premise is cute enough, if not already overused. Two friends end up wishing they had each other's lives, and while peeing in the fountain, some sort of power outage occurs, and they wake up the next morning in each other's bodies. Freaky Friday all over again, but without the humor and without the class. The addition of the language just puts it into a category all by itself. There's no need at all for the quantity of it - a few times, maybe. But it is E-N-D-L-E- S-S. There are plenty of nude scenes in there too, since one friend is supposedly an actor in the porn industry. I am sure you can grasp all the fun they have with that one.

If you are 15 and find offensive language really funny, or you just have almost no vocabulary and don't realize there are lots of other words out there, then you might like this movie. If, however, you are an adult and have an IQ over 70, then you'll want to keep on looking. It isn't funny, despite a decent cast. It's just obnoxious and hard to listen to. As I type this, I have the sound off with closed caption, which unfortunately still shows the real dialog - it never ends. There are some scenes that are just trashy, and "R" is definitely the correct rating for this one. The cast should be ashamed of this one, and want it removed from their resume.

Do yourself and your ears a favor and don't bother. Just hit your thumb with a hammer, let it fly, and you'll have had just as entertaining a time as this movie offers, and neither the foul language nor the pain will last nearly as long.

I saw this film in the theaters and enjoyed it enough to write this review (which is my first on IMDb). Crass humor, sappy storyline, nothing exceptional to say the least . . . But, I loved it! If the humor wasn't so rude and the characters not so insensitive and shallow, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this movie as much as I did. Half the fun was in watching these fellas on screen saying and doing stuff we wouldn't dream of doing in real life for fear of offending others or making fools of ourselves. Some scenes would have me squirming in awkward jaw-dropped discomfort while inwardly savoring the moment with a vicarious thrill.

The lead actors, Jason Bateman & Ryan Reynolds, are also what made this film work as well as it did. They both brought their own particular brand of funny to the table and played off of each other quite well (Bateman reminded me slightly of his Michael Bluth character in Arrested Development, mildly stuffy, uppity and wound up tight; while Reynolds' character was vaguely dry, arrogant and tactlessly self-involved) I really enjoyed watching our lead protagonists switch roles and play as each other with believably unaffected skill.

While not of great substance or profound moral quality (Who cares! That's not why I'm watching a feel-good Saturday-night comedy anyway), the characters and the movie as a whole really endears itself to the audience. I walked away from the film with a smile (possibly smirk) on my face and a little lightness to my step. It's kind of like Freaky Friday with a mid-life crisis and we learn that yeah, the grass is always greener and even 30-something jerks can be lovably perfect just the way they are.

The R rating is there for a reason. This movie is raunchy and crude. And yes, this is not a new formula, so know that it will presumably be predictable for most. However, what I liked about the movie is the stellar cast and the brilliant comedic writing. Timing is everything for comedy, and the script delivers this extremely well. The director and cast keep the scenes moving so well that you follow the unfolding drama intently while laughing, sighing, blushing, gagging and gasping.

So if you are looking for some gut-busting adult time with close friends or receptive significant other, then this movie will not disappoint. Just don't take it seriously, and you will be fine.

Man was this bad.

You would think two of my favorite actors, Bateman and Reynolds, would have gotten me through this. But no.

This was a very unfortunate script about two men, one married and a father, the other a swinging actor. Gross humor, targeted to the lowest common denominator in existence.

This switching lives story has been told a thousand times. We didn't need this iteration. It's been done so much better in the past. There was no reason to make this film.

I will say that because they are such marvelous actors, Reynolds and Bateman were able to wring one or two realistic character emotions at the end

Disappointing.