The Change Up DVD review

'The Change Up' Examiner DVD Review, Written by: Karen Benardello


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 comedy ‘The Change Up,’ which is available to rent on DVD at select Long Island Blockbuster locations, 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 New York native 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.
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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.

Despite its quick, three-month turnaround to home video from the theater, ‘The Change Up’ DVD surprisingly features several extras allowing viewers to gain a glimpse into the making of the film. The bonus features include an audio commentary with Dobkin; making-of featurettes, titled “Time for a Change” and “Family Matter;” a gag reel and deleted scenes.



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