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Summer 2011 is filled with sequels, spin-offs, and reboots. That's right, as exciting as the season's blockbusters may seem, we're being inundated with one of the most unoriginal summers the movies have ever seen. Within that context, though, which movies rise above the "Yeah, we phoned this one in" benchmark? Find out with our patent-pending originality meter.
From 1 to 10, where do these releases register? >>
Posted 08.05.11 by reelz -
The Change-Up looks like one of those classic cases of the trailer being much better than the movie itself. Nothing above a 5 so far.
"...isn't very good. A lot of it, in fact, is hacky and repellent."
— Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune"...begins at the absolute bottom so it can only ascend thereafter, a calculated strategy that nonetheless doesn't allow this middling R-rated effort to transcend its groan-worthy Freaky Friday setup."
— Nick Schager, Slant Magazine"...Bateman and Reynolds make The Change-Up seem a lot better than it is. Each earns a star in my review. The movie would be literally nothing without them."
— Peter Travers, Rolling Stone"...a raunchy [Judd] Apatow imitation with a heart of Lipitor..."
— Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly"...has the faults of raucous recent scatological comedies like Bad Teacher, Horrible Bosses, and The Hangover Part II with none of their redeeming facets. It's scattershot, sexist, and vulgar without being funny..."
— Nathan Rabin, Onion AV Club -
It's an old saw that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, which is also pretty much the plot of The Change-Up. (In this latest movie in the body-swap "genre," an overworked father switches bodies with an underworked slacker.)
The same old saw applies to movies — winter Oscar-bait pictures always look greener until they're the only thing in theaters. With that in mind, here are five reasons to see this summer comedy now rather than waiting around for the soon-to-be-interminable emoting headed to theaters nationwide in just a few months. Hey, even The Change-Up's latest promo acknowledges the movie's frivolity.
5 Reasons: The Change-Up >>
Posted 08.04.11 by reelz -
As movie storylines go, body-switching is one of the oldest, dating back to the silent era. While The Change-Up is the latest look at two people temporarily switching bodies, star Jason Bateman has pointed out where the movie breaks ground: It's the first "R-rated version of that story" — and one that comes from The Hangover screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, and Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin.
What all body-switching movies have in common, besides the "the grass is always greener" parable, is that some kind of mystical force is responsible for the switching. Before we see a magical public fountain switch the urinating Bateman and Ryan Reynolds this weekend, we survey the Freaky Friday genre.
Body-Switching Timeline: The Highs and Lows Before The Change-Up >>
Posted 08.02.11 by reelz -
With the release of The Change-Up a little over a week away, Universal Pictures has released a brand new red band trailer for the movie to let audiences know just how "R-rated" the R-rated comedy really is.
Embracing the raunchiness of The Change-Up has been a focus of the movie's promotional campaign from the start, with the first red band trailer debuting in April. Starring Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds as two friends with opposite lives who switch bodies, and, clearly, the marketing team doesn't want audiences to think they're going to see another remake of Freaky Friday, which is why the posters for The Change-Up have been keen to point out that the movie was written by The Hangover screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, and directed by Wedding Crashers's David Dobkin. And the new red band trailer does a good job of revealing that this isn't your average body-switching comedy.
watch the trailer >> Posted 07.28.11 by Ryan -
In the upcoming The Change-Up, a married middle-aged guy (Jason Bateman) and his young, single, lothario friend (Ryan Reynods) awake to discover they've somehow switched bodies. In anticipation, Hollywood's Top Ten, the show where fans control the countdowns, wants to know which body-swap movies top your list. Vote now for your favorites, then tune in to see if your picks make the cut .
Vote for your top 10 body-swap movies >>
Posted 07.26.11 by reelz -
Body-switching comedies aren't too complicated in plot, usually taking two disparate people and finding some mystical and fantastic way for them to end up in each other's bodies. Father and son or mother and daughter are two common pairings, but the upcoming The Change-Up eschewed the usual and opted to use two friends instead. Dave (Jason Bateman) is a family man, while his best friend Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) is still heavily involved in the singles scene. While drunkenly relieving themselves into a fountain, the two find themselves yearning for each others' life, and get their wish granted by the powers of movie-making.
After already receiving a red band trailer and a cleaner version of that same trailer, Universal Pictures has released the first preview clip from the movie to Yahoo!. In the clip, Dave (who is now Mitch) asks Mitch (who is now Dave) what he should do if Dave's wife Jamie (Leslie Mann, who also appeared in the 2009 body-switching comedy 17 Again) should want to have sex with him (now that he is Mitch and not Dave).
watch the clip >> Posted 07.20.11 by Ryan -
Many body-switching movies were made before The Change-Up, but as Jason Bateman has pointed out, this is the only body-changing comedy from The Hangover screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, and directed by Wedding Crashers's David Dobkin.
To show how adult this body-switching movie would be, the first footage released was last month's red band trailer, but for those who would like a cleaner version of a trailer about two friends (Bateman and Ryan Reynolds) who switch bodies after drunkenly relieving themselves into a magical fountain, the latest trailer is for you.
Watch the trailer >> Posted 05.11.11 by Ryan -
It's been a long, brutal winter in most parts of the country, so it's no surprise that even Hollywood is looking to get a jump on summer. The rollout of blockbuster movies starts this Friday, a full month before the Memorial Day Weekend.
As you'd expect (and hope), the mix of movies being offered up is heavy on the Action/Adventure movies (11) and Comedies (10). There's also plenty of offerings for Kids/Families (8). What's new this year is the addition of more R-rated comedies, thanks in no small measure to The Hangover's runaway success two summers back. Along with it's sequel, see what else is playing this summer — complete with trailers and photo galleries.
See the 2011 Summer Movie Guide >>
Posted 04.25.11 by reelz -
Body-switching comedies are one of those ideas that Hollywood just won't stop producing. The sub-genre (if we can call it that) had a heyday (if we can call it that) of father and son body-switching in the 1980s starting with 1987's Like Father, Like Son (starring Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron) and followed in 1988 by Vice Versa (starring Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage) and, in a real change of pace, 18 Again! (starring George Burns and Charlie Schlatter as a grandson and grandfather combo). Also in 1988 was Big, which had a twelve-year-old kid switching bodies with his older self (Tom Hanks).
Jason Bateman was all too-aware of the body-switching deluge, and admitted to Entertainment Weekly (print edition) that he suffered a "Really?" moment when first presented with the idea of joining The Change-Up.
See what changed his mind, plus the trailer >> Posted 04.21.11 by Ryan