The Change-Up (2011)

I added The Change-Up on my watchlist a long time ago because of Jason Bateman but never cared to watch it because I knew it'd be some idiotic comedy. There are those days though when I feel like watching these movies, like today. 

The story follows two friends —Dave (Jason Bateman) who is a hard-working lawyer married with the beautiful Jamie (Leslie Mann) and father of three, and Mitch (Ryan Reynolds), a single, reckless and unemployed stoner who never concludes anything. One night, after getting drunk, they urinate in a park's fountain and at the same time they wish they had each other's lives. The next morning, they wake up and discover that they have switched bodies. 

It certainly isn't the most original premise as there's plenty of body switch movies out there whose execution is why less juvenile than The Change-Up's. That being said, the plot as predictable and clichéd as it gets —I mean, that epiphany you could see it coming a mile away— isn't terrible as watching Dave and Mitch switch bodies and try to adapt to the other's life is enjoyable, entertaining almost. 

As for the characters, they are tremendously superficial as well as the typical characters played by these actors as Jason Bateman plays the serious and kind of awkward workaholic, with a family this time around, he always plays, and Ryan Reynolds plays the idiotic, carefree, irresponsible ladies' man he plays most of the time. However, Dave and Mitch switching bodies means Bateman and Reynolds switching roles and, despite the fact that cheap laughs are all they get, it's quite refreshing to see them play atypical roles. Leslie Mann is a bit of a show-stealer though as she manages to give her shallow, non-existent character a little depth. Olivia Wilde is here only for eye-candy purposes. And Alan Arkin is terribly underused as Mitch's father. 

Universal Pictures

Despite the enjoyable plot and the actors, The Change-Up still is a mediocre film, nothing more than an idiotic bro movie for the most part —at some point, it gives up its bro tone to become an overly sentimental mess—, with plenty of gross moments, vulgarity and gratuitous nudity. Sure, it's entertaining and fun-ish but at the same time it's offensive and most of the jokes fall flat.

The Switch (2010)

I wanted to watch The Switch about a month ago but somehow —I blame Patrick Wilson and the short title—I ended up watching The Ledge instead, which was quite the opposite of the light romantic comedy I was expecting to see. I double-checked this time and I was finally able to watch it. 

The film revolves around Wally (Jason Bateman), a neurotic man who has a hard time finding his soulmate, and his best friend Kassie (Jennifer Aniston), who decides to get artificially inseminated. Wally doesn't like the idea, mainly because he's in love with her though he hasn't realised it yet. At Kassie's insemination party, he gets drunk, he accidentally dumps the donor's (Patrick Wilson) sperm in the sink and decides to replace it with his own. He forgets completely about it, and Kassie leaves New York as she doesn't feel like it's the right place to raise a child. Seven years later, she comes back with her son Sebastian (Thomas Robinson) and Wally starts to notice striking resemblances between the boy and himself. In the meantime, Kassie becomes intimate with Roland, the sperm donor. 

Yes, the plot is lame and predictable, it's filled with holes and nonsense —my biggest issue, how are Wally and Kassie not together in the first place? It's clear right from the beginning that they are perfect for each other—, and the hurried ending is lazy writing at its best, the proof the writer was so done with it, he tried to end it as soon as he could. Or maybe he's just not a good writer. Either way, the story is quite engaging and I did end up rooting for Wally.

That may have something to do with the fact that I love Jason Bateman though. He yet again proves himself to be a wonderful leading man as he is oddly charming and has impeccable timing. The chemistry he has with Jennifer Aniston is great, which is why it doesn't make sense for them to not be together, but the chemistry he has with Thomas Robinson is even greater and makes their interaction very pleasant to watch. Aniston, on the other hand, isn't that good as she gives yet another bland, uncompelling comedic performance. Good thing the film focuses more on Bateman's character as opposed to hers.

Miramax Films

As for the comedy part, don't expect The Switch to make you laugh your ass off because it won't. It does, on the other hand, have that light and kind of heartwarming humour that puts a smile on your face from most of the film's running time. There still are a few laughs here and there —basically whenever Jeff Goldblum is on screen. Seriously, every single word that comes out of that man's mouth is funny.

Ultimately, while the writing is a mess, the film is fun to watch as it's humorous and occasionally touching. It's not the best romantic comedy out there, but it isn't the worst either, and it's definitely worth watching if you like Bateman or Goldblum.

Office Christmas Party (2016)

I have a soft spot for Jason Bateman so I don't care about how bad a movie sounds or how low it's rated, I'm gonna watch it anyway. I did pass Office Christmas Party though and kept putting it off for the past two years because I'm not much of a Christmas person and I had read some negative reviews and I was not in the mood for another crappy Christmas comedy. 

In this one, Clay Vanstone (T.J. Miller), the Chicago branch manager of IT sales company Zenotek, his Chief Technical of Technical Advancement, Josh Parker (Jason Bateman), and Tracey Hughes (Olivia Munn), his Chief of R&D, throw a big office Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client (Courtney B. Vance) so that they can save the branch and all of their employers and co-workers' jobs. 

The plot is very simple and predictable —actually, there's barely a plot. However, it's not very important as this is the kind of movie dudes like James Franco and Seth Rogen would make, a kind of movie that doesn't need a fancy plot to engage and entertain its audience because the interactions between the characters and, especially, their silly shenanigans do the trick.

In addition to the plot, Office Christmas Party also lacks solid characters as every single person in this film is shallow and underdeveloped not developed at all. Also, they do try too hard to be funny, and they talk too much about doing crazy things but rarely do them. However, some of them are quite memorable and fun and they are all women: an ultra-sensitive HR representative who is nowhere as depressing as Toby from The Office, and a bi-polar pimp.

Of course, the standouts are the two actresses who play those characters, Kate McKinnon as the HR representative —I didn't like her at all in The Spy Who Dumped Me, so she really surprised me in here—, and Jillian Bell as the pimp. Bateman, who yet again plays the nice guy who wants to try new things, isn't bad —actually, he nails the role. I didn't expect any less from him though—, and Jennifer Aniston does a good job playing the bitchy, uptight CEO/Clay's sister.

Paramount Pictures

The comedy is a hit and miss. Some jokes and gags are funny, some others make you wish you were deaf or blind. Also, there some gratuitous nudity that adds absolutely nothing, and it's definitely not funny.

Overall, Office Christmas Party isn't a terrible film, but it isn't a good one either. It's okay if you want something different than your typical, feel-good Christmas movie. But don't expect a masterpiece because this sure isn't one.