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      The Change-Up

      2011, Comedy, 1h 52m

      157 Reviews 25,000+ Ratings

      What to know

      Critics Consensus

      There's a certain amount of fun to be had from watching Bateman and Reynolds play against type, but it isn't enough to carry The Change-Up through its crude humor and formulaic plot. Read critic reviews

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      Movie Info

      Once inseparable pals, Dave (Jason Bateman) and Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) have drifted apart over the years. Dave is an overworked lawyer and family man, while Mitch has thus far avoided most of the normal responsibilities of adulthood. Each is envious of the other's life, and following a drunken binge, the men awake to find they have somehow switched bodies. Dave and Mitch soon discover that things are not as rosy as they seemed and try to find a way to return their lives to normal.

      • Rating: R (Some Graphic Nudity|Drug Use|Strong Crude Language|Strong Crude Sexual Content)

      • Genre: Comedy

      • Original Language: English

      • Director: David Dobkin

      • Producer: David Dobkin, Neal H. Moritz

      • Writer: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore

      • Release Date (Theaters):  wide

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Box Office (Gross USA): $37.0M

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: Universal Pictures

      • Production Co: Relativity Media, Original Film, Universal Pictures, Big Kid Pictures

      Cast & Crew

      Ryan Reynolds
      Jason Bateman
      Leslie Mann
      Olivia Wilde
      Gregory Itzin
      Alan Arkin
      Ming Lo
      Sydney Rouviere
      Faith Alhadeff
      Jon Lucas
      Scott Moore
      Joseph Caracciolo Jr.
      Ori Marmur
      Jeff Kleeman
      Jonathon Komack Martin
      Eric Alan Edwards
      Lee Haxall
      Greg Hayden
      John Debney
      Barry Ray Robison
      Ian Gracie
      Thomas Minton
      Debra Schutt
      Betsy Heimann

      News & Interviews for The Change-Up

      Critic Reviews for The Change-Up

      Audience Reviews for The Change-Up

      • Jan 31, 2013

        In "The Change-Up," lifelong buddies Mitch Planko(Ryan Reynolds) and Dave Lockwood(Jason Bateman) rarely get to hang out these days what with Dave's burgeoning legal career and having three kids with his wife Jamie(Leslie Mann) and Mitch's stalled acting career in Atlanta. Well, at least Mitch got invited to his father's(Alan Arkin) latest wedding. So, Mitch and Dave hanging out together to watch a baseball game at a bar is a big deal, so much so that Dave stands his wife up. Later, the guys, needing to urinate very badly, choose a fountain where instead of wishing for the second coming of Greg Maddux, like every other self-respecting Braves fan would, they wish they could have each other's lives. The good news is that the fountain statue does not blink them back to the past. The bad news is that they wake up in each other's bodies which is complicated by Dave's upcoming big case and Mitch's role in a movie. "The Change-Up" takes an old idea and does little with it except for sprucing it up with some vulgarity. However, the crude material does not matter as much as the clumsiness with which it is presented once the plot kicks in. Strangely enough, the movie eventually goes from there to mawkish sentimentality. And Jason Bateman again proves how much a one note actor he is. That leaves the door open for Olivia Wilde to steal scenes wholesale while we otherwise count the seconds waiting for Alan Arkin to show up again. Overall, the movie is exaggerated to poor effect, as it is hard to imagine anybody acting like Mitch in real life, for example. Look, I have friends who are married with kids like my brother and we respect each other's life choices. But I don't envy them and they do not envy my encyclopedic knowledge of Lithuanian cinema, even as we occasionally try to see a grown-up movie together.

        walter m Super Reviewer
      • Aug 12, 2012

        [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon13.gif[/img] So it turned out to be funnier than I thought it was going to be. I chuckled a couple times, but it doesn't work on so many levels. It relies on a very unoriginal premise that we've seen countless times before and gross out gags that it too often, and embarassingly proudly, poses as witty and hilarious good humour. Consequently it's simply juvenille and mediocre. The Change-Up is pretty much a post Hangover comedy flick that thinks what made The Hangover as funny as it was meant shouting, swearing, and flinging poo everywhere in our faces. It's lead Jason Bateman is more than capable of taking on comedy roles and he has proven that many times in the past. He's above teeth grittingly low brow films like this. On a positive note, he and Ryan Reynolds are perfectly cast and naturally make a screen couple with comedic timing. Unfortunately that chemistry would have worked so much better if they were together on a project with superior material to offer. Essentialy what they're given is a boring, predictable, forgettable, ocassionaly sweet but ultimately dislikable comedy that has nothing more to offer than a few cheap laughs. It's downfall is due in most part to it's increasingly familiar jokes, that it even at times struggles to duplicate.

        Super Reviewer
      • Jul 05, 2012

        It's not nearly as funny as it thinks it is, but rather crude and underwhelming considering the talent involved. It could have been much funnier. It's formulaic and far too long. It does have a few (and I mean few) funny parts, but for the most part I was just watching in disgust at what was happening on screen. Leslie Mann gives a solid performance, but this is the same shtick we've seen from Reynolds and Bateman their whole career.

        Super Reviewer
      • Feb 26, 2012

        The Change-Up is a comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman. I saw the trailer and reviews prior to renting this one and figured there was no way this could be good but my wife wanted to see it, so here I went! The movie is another body swapping flick. Bateman plays a married man with three kids who is overly burdened with work and family life. Reynolds, of course, plays a single playboy who sleeps with anything that moves and has basically no responsibilities to speak of. When the two finally get to hang out they make a wish and end up swapping bodies. The story is very predictable and weak because of that. As I stated the film stars Reynolds and Bateman but also has a strong supporting cast that features Olivia Wilde, Leslie Mann, and Alan Arkin. As always Bateman and Reynolds put on strong acting performances, though not either one's best. Though these two do not have a huge role I tend to think the best actor in this one is Leslie Mann. She provides some of the few humorous parts in the whole film. Overall The Change-Up is a pretty awful movie with a few humorous parts. I did laugh out loud during one kitchen scene but that was really about it. I feel like I've seen about five of these body switching movies and I'm really tired of it. I would never recommend this movie to anyone.

        Super Reviewer

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