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Parents' Guide to

The Change-Up

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Overly crude body-swapping comedy isn't for kids.

Movie R 2011 112 minutes
The Change-Up Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 16 parent reviews

age 18+

I walked (really ran) out and got a refund.

WARNING--One of the most vulgar movies I've ever seen. It was so bad that I walked out and demanded my money back. Vile and pornografic. Pure trash. You're bombarded by the "F" word from the start. An assault on your soul. A new low for Hollywood.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
age 12+

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (16 ):
Kids say (20 ):

Bateman and Reynolds are undeniably funny, and it's easy to see why this movie would have been easy for the filmmakers to pitch -- great cast, tried-and-true plot device, and tons of hard-R humor. But despite the actors' talent and some big laughs that parents, especially, will appreciate, there's a fine line between raunchy and tasteless, and the plot veers into cringe-worthy toilet humor one too many times to stay consistently amusing.

Casting Reynolds as a hard-core womanizer and Bateman as the straight-edge family man is cliché, and it's clear that each could have played the other's original part with ease. That would have been a welcome switch, as Reynolds has heart and Bateman has edge, which they clearly prove in the moments that they're "themselves" in the other's body. While there's a somewhat touching message about self-reflection and appreciating what you have, the story gets bogged down in the formulaic gross-out humor. Reynolds' Mitch is too pathetically one-dimensional to even believe, and it's hard to feel sorry for Dave when he has an amazing job, a gorgeous wife (Leslie Mann), and a million-dollar mansion. That said, if you're in the mood for some blue comedy, you'll definitely get a kick out of Craig Bierko's hilarious cameo as a soft-porn director. Now there's an actor who deserves a leading comedy role.

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