newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JOE TYRRELL

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

MOVIE REVIEW

Talk about a deceptive pitch!

"The Change-Up" offers itself as a comedy, but the audience has hardly settled in when the bottom drops out.

In the opening minutes of this new movie starring Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds, an infant craps into his father's face. In case you miss it, the child then craps into his father's mouth.

If that appeals to you, don't arrive late, because that's as good as it gets in "The Change-Up."

This year, those whom the gods would destroy make comedies. How else can we explain the horrible fate that has overtaken the participants in "The Hangover"?

The original cast returned this year with not so much a sequel as a defaced thousandth-generation copy of that bracing 2009 outing, mounting a strong bid for worst flick of the year.

Now, the writers of that first "Hangover," Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, have picked up the gauntlet, or the used condom, and thrown up their own contender.

Bateman, 42, is Dave Lockwood, an uptight, married lawyer about to make partner in a prestigious Atlanta firm. He has been best friends since third grade with slacker bachelor actor Mitch Planko, played by Reynolds, who is seven years younger than Bateman and seems 15.

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Out drinking one night, they piss into a magic fountain and wish to switch places. Faster than you can say, "Hey, didn't they already re-make 'Freaky Friday?'" or "If this is Atlanta, what happened to all the black people?" their wishes come true.

The two male characters' wishes, that is, not those of anyone expecting anything more than diarrhea or racism. Oh, and boobs, referring not just to the male characters but to actresses' anatomies. For a movie centered on two dudes pissing, it is remarkable how clothed, or short, Bateman and Reynolds remain while their colleagues undress.

The two stars have been refreshingly candid in their winking promotion of "The Change-Up."