THE CHANGE-UP, directed by David Dobkin, does something so few movies I've seen ever do. It actually gets worse each time I watch it. I guess that sounds harsh, but it's true. Each time I watch the movie, I have a harder time figuring out what I thought was so funny the first time. If I'd rated it after my first viewing, I guarantee it would've been higher. The movie is essentially an R-rated version of a movie we've seen a hundred times before: an identity swap. Jason Bateman is the straight man, a married lawyer with three kids who's on the verge of making partner at his firm. Ryan Reynolds is the slacker, a stoned out wannabe actor who makes a living with the occasional commercial or "lorno" (cable-level softcore porn). Each of them has something to envy in regards to the other man's life: Mitch (Reynolds) yearns for his friend's success, while Dave (Bateman) wants his friend's total freedom. One night, after having a few beers, the two wander across a statue in the park and stop for a quick leak. The two unanimously wish they had the other man's life and BAM, the next morning they've swapped bodies. You know how it goes from here: Mitch has to try and not mess up Dave's marriage and potential promotion, while Dave struggles with his desire to sleep around and whether or not it still constitutes as cheating on his wife if it's not his body. Minor laughs ensue.

When the very first scene in the movie has a baby crapping in Jason Bateman's mouth, it pretty much sets the standard for the next two hours. The rest of the movie relies on toilet humor, nudity (which isn't always a bad thing, though the ladies here are all digitally-enhanced), and plot turns you can see coming a mile away. The problem with doing yet another rendition of the body-swapping story we've seen a hundred times before is that we've seen it a hundred times before. We know what's going to happen. Each of them will be thrown into drastically different situations than they're accustomed to, they'll struggle, and eventually they'll learn something important about their own lives. The end, roll credits. What matters in these sort of movies is the filler in between the predictable plot points, and the sad fact of the matter is there really isn't anything more here than shock value laughs. The lorno shoot, Mitch juggling the babies precariously in the kitchen in the midnight feeding scene, Leslie Mann's thai food surprise, etc. There aren't a whole lot of jokes, just a bunch of stuff that's shockingly amusing. Unfortunately, we become desensitized after a while and they become less and less amusing. Just because a movie is R-rated doesn't mean the humor needs to rely on fart jokes and the occasional nipple.

I really wanted this movie to be funny. An R-rated spin on what's primarily been a PG-rated theme was a cool plan, and the cast assembled for the movie should've been just what it needed. Jason Bateman's always hilarious and Ryan Reynolds has the potential to be great in a movie (as long as it's a comedy and he's not wearing green CGI spandex). Leslie Mann is tried and true, and Olivia Wilde is gorgeous and I was curious to see how she'd do at comedy after enjoying her work on TV's "House" for so long. But in the end, none of it came together like it was supposed to. The movie ended up being a forgettable flop that will fall off of the cast's resumes soon enough, I'm sure. If you truly want to get the most of this movie, watch it only once. The less sober, the better. That ought to leave you with pleasant enough memories of the movie that a second viewing would probably only ruin. Its flaws start to come forward once the shock value has worn off. The middle section of the film is way too long and the two friends spend way too much time in each other's bodies. If the filmmakers had managed to cut the movie about a half hour shorter, streamlined the whole thing and jacked up the pace a little, it would've probably been a major improvement. Oh, and one final note, they really should've changed the title. I can't express how much I don't like the title of the film. It truly sounds like they'd run out of ideas for "body-swap" movie titles and cobbled this one together at the last minute.