There's absolutely nothing new to be said storywise about The Change-Up. It's the same identity/personality switch narrative you've seen before going right back to films such as Trading Places, with many of the same inherent challenges to be faced and overcome by our protagonists, before the regulation switchback at the end. The one big difference with The Change-Up is that it features the grossest, LOL, humour that I've ever seen in this sort of film. Subtle it is not. The production team clearly sought an R rating. A broad sense of humour is required to enjoy it. If you lack that sort of attribute, be advised to stay well away.

That said, I obviously enjoyed it, as likely did Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds, life-long best friends, who switch bodies and completely opposite lifestyles, after some mumbo-jumbo involving a city-wide blackout and some sort of magic fountain. Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde demonstrate they are both great sports and we thankfully see their roles become more enhanced during the back half of the movie. Alan Arkin even pops up for a few brief scenes as (we presume) a much married father of Ryan Reynolds's, slacker Lothario, Mitch.

A couple of observations. As stated though working well together, it is a little difficult, despite his funny hair cut, of accepting Ryan Reynolds as the same age as Jason Bateman which is one of the main narrative points. Bateman's a good-looking guy, but clearly has got quite a few years on Reynolds. The other thing is that it's difficult to see where $50+million dollars has gone, except perhaps in star salaries. It's just one of those films you look at and wonder how did it cost so much to put together.

Predictable though it is, The Change-Up still manages to provide plenty of fun for the flexibly liberal viewer.