A couple of weeks ago, I was invited via Klout to see The Change Up. To be honest, I’m addicted to free stuff, so I signed up without having a clue what the movie was. Then I found out that Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds were both in it. Um, smart and pretty? Who in the hell cares what the movie is about? Am I right?

Well, I… um… yeah… um… I don’t really know what I think of this movie. It tried so hard. And there were parts of it that I really did enjoy, but… it just seemed like a tremendous waste of talent. Yes, I will go there.

For those that aren’t familiar, this is one of those movies where the two lead characters switch bodies and lives. They then have to learn a tremendous life lesson in order to switch back. And it stuck to that formula to the letter. Ryan Reynolds plays a slacker without a care in the world. Jason Bateman plays the serious guy that has never put even his pinkie toe out of line.

Both Reynolds and Bateman made the transformations seamlessly. They got it down to the mannerisms and it was actually quite impressive. In fact, I can’t think of anyone in this movie that didn’t put in a good performance. This was definitely not where the movie went wrong.

The story was, as I said before, very formulaic. You already had to suspend some belief to get through the body switching thing. In my mind, that means you have to keep everything else very believable. That didn’t happen. First off, these two people would not have been friends. Reynolds’ character is that guy that we all had fun in high school with, but that we’re all scratching our heads trying to figure out what happened to that guy. Someone as tightly wound as Bateman’s character would not have kept this person in his life.

And then after the switch happens, does anyone really think a slacker could ever actually fit into a law office and do even a passable job? Anyone? Anyone? I just kept sitting there thinking, “How does he even know what he’s supposed to be doing?” They didn’t show him struggle even once. Kind of a missed opportunity in my mind.

The only really believable story line was how Bateman’s marriage was disintegrating. Leslie Mann played that beautifully. I felt for her and just wanted to give her a hug. I really would like to see her in more movies. Every time I see her, I’m reminded of how much I like her.

Something that really threw me about this movie was the amount of profanity. I am no prude and I have a certain love of yelling a certain word. But there is a point where it gets to be too much. This movie can’t even see that point in the rear view window. Did we really need to hear all of that? Nope. Not even a little.

And I have one more beef with this movie: baby genitals. I don’t need to see that. The gag could have been achieved without it. And there was something a little shocking and disgusting about it. I really wish that hadn’t included that. It’s all I can think about when I think about this movie. Not really the thought that you want your audience to leave the theater with.

Overall, I give The Change Up a C+. It could have and should have been more, but it wasn’t. But parts of it were extremely enjoyable and some of the gags really worked well. I would suggest waiting to see it at home while you’re slightly drunk. Or maybe a lot drunk. Yes, a lot drunk would be better.

P.S. I’m in no way a movie reviewer. I go to lose myself for a few hours. I just thought it was cool that I was able to see a movie before it came out and for free. I had to write something about it.

Also, you’ll see Baking has been replaced with I Like Free Stuff. I’m on a diet and I’m getting some free stuff right now. This may be temporary or it may be permanent. It depends on how much free stuff I get.