The Change-Up (2011): Another Mediocre Comedy

It's hard to say whether Horrible Bosses (review) or The Change-Up is a more mediocre movie. The latter has a more common plot while at the same time it wins in the field of more beautiful actresses. Both have Jason Bateman starring in a leading role. Horrible Bosses sports the more celebrated cast featuring Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell and Donald Sutherland compared to the cast of The Change-Up which "only" has to offer Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde and Alan Arkin. We can continue with comparisons like these but independently of any juxtaposition, both of the movies are not among the good ones.

The Change-Up offers the worn story of Dave Lockwood (Jason Bateman) and Mitch Planko (Ryan Reynolds), two friends who accidentally switch their bodies while peeing in a fountain. The usual complications follow when Dave and Mitch try to change their bodies back. Mitch has to deal with Dave's wife Jamie (Leslie Mann), his children and their diapers while Dave has to experience Mitch's sexual life in the face of a pregnant woman, a suspicious role in a shady movie and probably a long-dreamed sex with his real-life legal associate Sabrina (Olivia Wilde). If this is not enough the irresponsible Mitch has to successfully execute the deal of Dave's business life.

Starting with the implausible change of bodies, The Change-Up continues in the same vein with a string of unmotivated actions coming either from the leads or their ladies. The behavior of Mitch in Dave's firm is also inadequate and subsequently it's strange that he's not fired long before the completion of the important deal. I would naturally expect that are movie like this could not be the most probable portrayal of the real life but the lack of motivation in pretty much every sequence of actions is too excessive. Still, there are scenes and jokes that are funny on their own and although they do not add to the entire story of the movie, every piece of banter is a plus for a film of this type.

The cast of The Change-Up is Ok for a light comedy. Jason Bateman has the harder task to tame Mitch in Dave's body and it doesn't work always like a charm. Ryan Reynolds has the easier part and he's doing fine. The ladies, Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde, are very beautiful as usual and could be considered among the main reasons to see the movie: both are very charming, attractive and their acting is decent. Alan Arkin has a couple of short appearances as Mitch's father and while this is not the film which will bring him another Oscar, he is a nice addition to the cast.

Among the good sides of the movie is its similarity with Crazy, Stupid, Love. since The Change-Up also explores mid-life identity crises although it's even less profound than the former film. There are some unexpected or surprising scenes too like the "tattooing" or the "baseball tickets" ones. So if you don't approach the movie with high expectations of great humor or believable story, you can even actually like it if you see it without children at home.

Horrible Bosses (2011): Not Horrible but a Mediocre Movie

While it may not be the case with Jennifer Aniston you'll usually expect to see Kevin Spacey and even Colin Farrell in a better movie than Horrible Bosses. It's a comedy with a bit of a criminal flavor but the funniest thing in the film is the stupidity of some of the characters. There are people that find this movie to be surprising and with lots of twist but I cannot second that statement. There are small twists here and there but the bigger picture is pretty clear from the beginning and any occasional twists and funny moments are only enough to keep Horrible Bosses not so horrible as the bosses in it.

The movie is about three friends that hate their bosses for different reasons. Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman) hates Mr. Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) because Harken heavily exploits Nick, denies him a long overdue promotion and eventually blackmails Nick in order to keep him in the firm. Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) hates the new boss Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell) who unlike his father before him does not appreciate Kurt's work, uses drugs and he's not mentally stable. But Kurt actually likes his job. Finally, Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) hates Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) who constantly attempts sexual abuse on him and similarly to Dave Harken blackmails Dale with a former charge of child offending so he does not dare to quit. Thus, being unable to leave their jobs, the three friends decide to kill their horrible bosses.

The premise of the plot is not the most standard one but it is somehow limited. You wouldn't expect that our "good" heroes are going to become real murderers just to get rid of their superiors. Many of the situations are forced and the narrative while not fully predictable in details from the very beginning leads to the only logical outcome at the end. And apart of the unpredictability pointed by other reviewers, I cannot find also a lot of dark humor in Horrible Bosses (check Kind Hearts and Coronets for huge portions of it) but it's always a matter of perception.

The cast is interesting and it offers bigger names for the supporting roles while the leading parts are assigned to less famous actors. Kevin Spacey makes a good performance as Dave Harken but his character is annoying as pretty much most of the other individuals in Horrible Bosses. The exaggeration in the portrayal of both the bad and the good guys actually makes the story and the characters in particular hardly believable although the performances are not bad on their own. It also hard to believe that Mr. Harken could cry at all but you'll see him almost doing it in one of the scenes and this practically ruins the already depicted character.

Objectively speaking, Horrible Bosses has a few funny moments and some potential to be appreciated by a certain group of (teenager) moviegoers. It is definitely not a must-see film and it does not worth seeing this picture in a movie theater but you could take a look at it if you have nothing better to do at home some day.