by Nat Almirall, Aug 5 2011 // 12:00 PM

Probably the best thing you can say about The Change-Up is that it’s not as bad as it looks. Actually, no, the best thing you can say is that there’s a lot of surprising and sweet nudity.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The plot is largely what’s laid out in the trailer: Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds are two friends, one’s married, one’s a swinging bachelor, respectively. One night they get drunk and take a quick squirt in an enchanted fountain while simultaneously declaring their mutual desire to be the other.
Morning comes, and they get their wish. Hi-jinx ensue as Reynolds struggles with the pressures of fatherhood and the big, lawyer-ish-looking account that’s looming, and Bateman rediscovers the downsides of bachelor life. A plot recap is unnecessary because it’s just something on which a string of gags involving baby excretions, pregnant women, masturbation, baby nudity, dancing vegetables, and silly walks to make you grow at least six pairs of hands.
Director David Dobkin (The Wedding Crashers) tries to get a laugh from nearly everything and, for the audience I saw it with, it worked. To the extent that their reaction to film became more interesting than the film itself. At first I was fascinated by the comic beats they ate up and the extent to which they were involved.
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Posted in: Comedy · Movies · Reviews
Tagged: Alan Arkin, David Dobkin, Dentsu Inc., Jason Bateman, Jon Lucas, Lauren Bain, Leslie Mann, Luke Bain, Mircea Monroe, Olivia Wilde, Original Film, Relativity Media, Ryan Reynolds, Scott Moore, Sydney Rouviere, The Change-Up, TJ Hassan
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by Chris Ullrich, Apr 21 2011 // 9:00 AM
We haven’t seen any of these body-switch comedies in the last couple years but I guess it was inevitable they would return. And, they have with Universal’s newest entry into the genre The Change-Up.
Late yesterday the company released a brand new Red Band trailer for the raunchy body-switching comedy where Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman switch identities and have to deal with the ramifications. Written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the team that brought us The Hangover, and directed by Wedding Crashers helmer David Dobkin, this new film takes the somewhat tired formula and seems to give it a bit of new life.
Yes, the trailer actually has a few funny bits — although that’s not always a good indicator of anything. Still, these two actors are very appealing and it could be good.
Take a look at the trailer after the jump. By clicking through you certify you are old enough to know better blah, blah, blah. The Change-Up hits theaters on August 5th.
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Posted in: Movies · News · Trailers · Universal Pictures · Video
Tagged: Comedies, David Dobkin, Jason Bateman, Jon Lucas, Leslie Mann, Movies, Ryan Reynolds, Scott Moore, The Change-Up, the hangover
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by Sebastian Suchecki, Apr 15 2010 // 10:00 AM
When NBC and Universal decided to remake Knight Rider with the voice of Val Kilmer as K.I.T.T., we said OK. When AMC announced that they were doing a remake of The Prisoner in the form of a miniseries with Jim Caviezel, we said OK (not knowing at the time that it would blow). Now, it seems that the fan community needs to put their collective feet down, as Warner Bros. is moving forward with their big-screen reboot of the 1960’s spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
The original, which ran on NBC from 1964-68, introduced the world to Robert Vaughn, who went on to do some pretty amazing things like BASEketball and BBC’s Hustle, and David McCallum, who fell into animated voice-over obscurity went on to co-star in CBS’ NCIS. After years of rewrites and script proposals, Warner seems to have found their writer. From Heat Vision:
Max Borenstein has been tapped to write the latest draft of “Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” Warner Bros.’ big-screen version of the 1960s TV show.
David Dobkin is attached to direct the long-in-development project and will produce with John Davis and Jeff Kleeman.
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Posted in: Action · Announcements · Deals and Dealmaking · Movies · News · Reboots and Remakes · TV to Movies · Warner Bros
Tagged: David Dobkin, David McCallum, Jeff Kleeman, John Davis, Man From U.N.C.L.E., Max Borenstein, NBC, Robert Vaughn, Warner Bros
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by Elisabeth Rappe, Mar 12 2010 // 10:00 AM
Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are both very handsome men. Both are very funny men, too. If you put them together, would the result be a comedy that melts the screen in sheer charisma? We’ll find out, because according to Variety, Bateman and Reynolds are set to star in Universal’s Change-Up.
Directed by David Dobkin and penned by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the two nuts behind The Hangover, the film centers on a comedic trope as old as the hills — body swapping. The plot centers on a responsible family man (Bateman, of course) who switches bodies with his best friend. Naturally, his best friend is the polar opposite of his buttoned-up self, and is lazy, childless, and immature. There will be lessons learned, and hilarious misunderstandings.
I worry it could be another Role Models (another film that had a pretty good comedy pair at its core, but just didn’t gel), but I’m hoping that The Hangover duo can make this work. I didn’t think that the film was the second coming of comedy, but there’s no doubt that it was nicely balanced between three very funny guys. Besides, Bateman and Reynolds can sell even the thinnest role and they’ve been the highlight of just about everything they have played in.
The film is set to begin shooting in September. Sounds like just the thing for the Green Lantern to have some downtime in, and is far enough away that we’ll have forgotten Bateman swapped something else for Jennifer Aniston in Disney’s The Switch.
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Posted in: Casting · Comedy · Movies · Universal Pictures
Tagged: David Dobkin, Jason Bateman, Jon Lucas, Movies, Ryan Reynolds, Scott Moore, The Change-Up
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