'The Change Up' Movie Review

'The Change Up' Movie Review, Written by: Karen Benardello

Director: David Dobkin

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde



People often envy their friends’ lifestyles, naively believing that whatever job and family relationships other people have are better than their own. Despite all their wishing, no once can change their life with their friends, and don’t always realize that what they have may be the best option for them. But in the new comedy ‘The Change Up,’ best friends Mitch Planko and Dave Lockwood, who lead completely different lifestyles, accidentally switch places, and realize that they shouldn’t take what they have for granted.

‘The Change Up’ follows Mitch (played by Ryan Reynolds) and Dave (portrayed by Jason Bateman), who have been life-long friends, despite their drastically different lifestyles; Mitch is a single, under-employed actor who doesn’t like the responsibility of family, while Dave is a workaholic lawyer, who’s determined to provide for his wife Jamie (played by Leslie Mann) and their three kids. One night while they’re at a fountain, the two wish for each other’s lives. When they wake up the next morning, they discover that they’ve switched bodies, and that the other’s life isn’t as fulfilling as they expected.

Reynolds and Bateman have an exhilarating relationship together as they portray the unlikeliest of friends who envy each other’s personalities and lifestyles. The two seem as though they truly have been friends for most of their lives, and they would do anything to protect each other. While the two both had the taunting challenge of taking on Mitch’s carefree lifestyle and Dave’s stressful, chaotic schedule, they always made the characters seem loyal to each other, despite not always understanding the other’s choices.

Of the two actors’ portrayals of both characters, Reynolds definitely pushed out of his comfort zone when the two characters switched bodies, and he began playing Dave. Known for playing such eccentric characters in such comedies as ‘Waiting…’ and ‘Just Friends,’ the actor effortlessly took on the role of a devoted family man who was also highly committed to his work.


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