Introduction
I'm doing this blog on the movie The Change-Up written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, and directed by David Dobkin. I chose this movie because it looked funny, and I hadn't seen it before.
Describe
The Change-Up is a story about a man named David played by Jason Bateman (Arrested Development, Horrible Bosses) and his best friend Mitch played by Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder, Green Lantern). David is a married, stressed out, father of twin babies who just so happens to be up for partnership at his law firm. Mitch is an underachieving, partying, single man whose trying to make it as an actor. One evening, after a few hours at the bar, Dave and Mitch find themselves urinating in a fountain where they make a wish that they were each other. The next morning, they wake up inside each others bodies and insanity ensues. They are forced to live each others lives.
Analyze
This is a pretty typical movie for both Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds. It's a romantic sort of comedy that provides just enough comedy to keep men in their seats while women fantasize about romance. The movie's concept of "walking a mile in someone else's shoes" has been done several times in the past by Freaky Friday and others.
Interpret
I think this movie's target audience is basically anyone who has ever imagined they were someone else. I believe it especially calls out to married men who miss being single and to single men who wonder what it would be like to have a wife and a family. I don't believe this movie holds any real importance to society, but I do think that it allows our inner creativity to go wild momentarily imagining living someone else's life.
Evaluate
I thought overall this movie was mediocre. It had it's funny moments with the antics of Bateman and Reynolds, and I've always thought the whole concept of "walking a day in someone else's shoes" is interesting, but it has too many overly dramatic emotional scenes, especially with Dave's wife. It's not a movie that I will be remembering for years to come by any means. One review of this movie by Lisa Schwarzbaum on ew.com says The Change-UP is "a comedy with a message about as deep as a bowl of beernuts." To paraphrase the rest of her review, she agreed that the movie was merely mediocre.
Summary
In closing, I would recommend this movie to anyone looking to kill some time. It wasn't great or really memorable in any way, but it was good for a few laughs, and it's always fun to imagine....what if?
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