ScreenCrave.com » Jason Bateman

The Change-Up: Movie Review

Laura Aguirre — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:11:21 +0000

Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are hitting the big screen again this year, this time David Dobkin style. It’s a body-switching movie! Reynolds is Bateman, and Bateman is Reynolds. Confused? You shouldn’t be, this has been done plenty of times before. The Change-Up is a comedy written by The Hangover writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. This bromance comedy also includes the always funny Leslie Mann and the charming Olivia Wilde. Dobkin managed to get an all-star cast together, but did he deliver a great comedy? Let’s discuss the good and the bad.

The Players:

Director: David Dobkin
Writers: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde
Original Music by: John Debney
Cinematography by: Eric Edwards

The Plot:

Two friends, Mitch and Dave, who have drifted apart, now lead different lives, Dave is an overworked lawyer, husband, and father of three, and Mitch is a single, quasi-employed man-child. Both believe the other has a better life, and while peeing into a wishing fountain, the two remark that they wish they had each others’ lives. The next morning, they wake up to find themselves in each others’ bodies, living each others’ lives.

The Good:

Ryan Reynolds: There’s no doubt that Jason Bateman is a funny guy, he’s got a definitive sense of humor that makes him recognizable and he’s a pleasure to see. But in this movie, he gets out-shined by Reynolds. Reynolds aces both roles, which isn’t easy because both characters are very different. He’s completely believable as both Mitch and Dave. Mitch is a jerk who never apologizes for his behavior and it’s easy to dislike the character. But when Reynolds is Mitch, he brings laugh after laugh, while Bateman’s Mitch borders on annoying. Dave is a great, sensitive guy. He’s a husband and father. Both actors play a great Dave, but in the end, it’s Reynolds who wins my heart.
Bromance/Chemistry: As buddies, Reynolds and Bateman have great chemistry. Their story holds the water and in the end, you fall for both of them. The best scenes in the movie are when both actors are sharing the screen. There’s a dynamic between them and they’re very funny.
Leslie Mann: Mann plays a great housewife with an edge. She plays a similar to character to her role in Knocked Up and once again knocks it out of the park. Perhaps it’s her comfort zone, or maybe she just keeps getting type-casted, but either way we’re happy to have her because she’s so great in the film. She knows the ins and outs of a character like this. But it’s not all thanks to her. Dobkin and the writers created a character that was mature enough to carry the whole emotional weight of the film. Despite this being a comedy, it goes pretty deep. She’s funny. She knows what she’s doing. And she’s irreplaceable.

The Bad:

The Parts That Went Too Far: It’s not the f-bombs or nudity that go too far – one appreciates those things to be in abundance. After all it’s a rated-R movie. But The Change-Up goes too far, with poo and porn jokes. Once you’re staring a baby poo during the first five minutes of the movie, you realize it’s going to be that kind of movie. As a whole, the movie’s okay, but it’s the parts that go too far that keep this movie from being better. It would have been better to add more f-bombs and twisted jokes than to reduce the movie to poo and porn jokes. It was shocking, but it wasn’t funny.

Overall:

Body-switching movies have been done before, but not like this. This is a fresh approach. At times The Change-Up does goes too far, but the great performances make it worthwhile.

Rating: 7/10

The Change-Up hits theaters August 5, 2011.

Gallery:

Trailer:

Interview: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman and Director David Dobkin Talk The Change-Up

Laura Aguirre — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 17:00:29 +0000

Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds are changing things up with their new body-switching movie The Change-Up. The premise may seem a little cliche, but Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin has managed to put together a good comedy film. This summer we’ve seen good comedies like The Hangover II, Bridesmaids, and Horrible Bosses – now it’s time to get ready for The Change-Up. This film has an all-star cast including the always funny Leslie Mann. Check out the interview below where the two leads and their director talk about making The Change-Up, working with strong female characters, and pushing barriers in comedy.

What was the part that you enjoyed the most about shooting the film?

Jason Bateman: Working with this guy is pretty great. We didn’t do a whole lot of work because there was a lot of playing and there’s a lot of support. He’s got incredible ideas for what different to say if you’re tired of hitting that joke out of the park — which these writers, [they] write these incredible lines, but eventually you’re going to get tired of hearing that and you’re going to stop laughing at it. [Reynolds] comes up with one that is no better no worse but just beautifully different. Working with David is fantastic because the guy is incredibly professional and prepared so everything moved like people had been there before and knew what they were going. In a world of chaos, which is what a movie set is, it’s nice to be working with professionals.

Ryan Reynolds: I’ve admired [Bateman] for a long time, both personally and professionally. I use to pride myself that I could not break in a scene, you could do and say anything but he upturned it into an actual disability for me. There’s an entire movie that could just be cut of me tearing up and trying to hold it together and then standing at a perfect right angle for the scene because I can’t catch my breathe. That was really nice but pretty soon it got embarrassing.

Making The Change-Up:

David, how did you approach directing this film?

David Dobkin: The script was hilarious. It was the best script I’ve ever started a movie with. We had a lot of the blueprint down which gave us a lot of freedom to play. What I normally do is in rehearsals and I have a very long rehearsal process with my actors. In the rehearsal process we go through the scenes and we let any kind of ideas or inspirations that they may have come out in that room. Then I have the writers take it and get back into the script. By the time we’re on set, there’s not a lot of [spontaneity]. I know it’s appears that way and ad-libby but it’s not. It’s a natural study process to get to that point. That’s just the credit of the actors being really good actors. The other thing that I do when I am in the rehearsal room, I never get the scene to happen all the way, I bring it as far as I can, it’s foreplay, but you never want to cross the line because if you do, you’ll end up seeing a whole bunch of stuff that you love, then you’re going to force your actors to recreate something that happened, it won’t feel spontaneous or real. It’s a gamble, but you take it to where everyone understand, very specific, what the bulls-eye is but it doesn’t happen ’til you’re there on the day, which gives it a sense of excitement or a sense of it happening in those moments.

Did you have Ryan and Jason in mind since the beginning?

DD: When I first read the script, I wrote down a very short list of actors, and they were both on that list. It was a list I brought to the studio, there were eight actors that had been approved for the movie, pre-approved and Ryan and Jason were off that initial list. It fit perfectly. You could see clues in both of their careers that they had performances that touched upon this thing but none of them had gone all the way with it. It’s fun. Part of casting is not putting people in roles where you’ve seen them before, I know that’s what everybody wants but it’s a little bit of the trick of going this is what you love about somebody but you’ve never seen them do this before. You can’t come up with a performance like what Vince Vaughn did in Wedding Crashes – roles are very specific, each one is a unique opportunity for that actors, there’s no two that are really the same, if you line it up at the right time with the right person you usually get something really combustible. I feel like both these guys nailed it on both sides, they worked hard to share characters and do that stuff.

How did you two (to Ryan and Jason) approach your characters? Did you study each other?

RR: Well, I first met Jason fifteen years ago. We’ve known each a long time, but I think I can speak for both of us, quite unilaterally, when I say none of us are good enough at our jobs to do an impression at each other.

JB: How dare you?

RR: We went with the essence of the other guy. We have a pretty high level of conceit right off the get go on a movie like this. We didn’t want audiences picking apart a performance as a spot on imitation of each other. It didn’t seem necessary.

JB: You’re not going to R-rated comedies to get a study in acting. I think you want to go in there and have a good time, laugh your ass off. Maybe get offended a couple of times and get the hell out. We’re not trying to win Oscars here or teach anybody any lessons. Having said all that,t his movie is about as high quality as you can get, with an R-rated comedy. The comedy pushes all boundaries and barriers, and happens to sneak in quite a bit of heart and relativity, if that’s possible in a concept where people switch bodies. It’s the reason that Ryan and I jumped at the chance to be in the film [because] of the quality of the script, what [Jon] Lucas and [Scott] Moore did with what is a concept that people are more than familiar with. There’s no reason to do another body-switching movie unless you’re going to do something different, and we do here. This is an R-rated body switching movie. It hasn’t been done before. You put the director of Weeding Crashers on that, I’m already in. We were lucky to be a part of it.

RR: He said that in one exhalation.

And was it fun to to the body switching this way? You can play it a couple of other ways.

RR: Every actor loves a challenge where you get to play two different people in the same film. For me, I think the only way to do it was [the way we did it]. It allows you to inhabit the bodies that these guys are in. To really experience their world. The fact that basically, every film where two drunk idiots piss in a magic fountain, great. But they switch bodies great. What happens after that was the reason to do the film. To have this mentally unhinged lunatic be looking after your children was something very appealing. There’s something fantastic about that set up and that pay off and vice versa. And this conservative guy is inhabiting the world of a guy working in porn. It’s absurd. That’s what it’s all about. If you see it through the perspective of other people, I don’t think it would be that rewarding.

JB: Ditto.

Working with strong female characters:

David, how do you go about creating stronger female characters in your comedies?

DD: I pay a lot of attention to those characters because they are real characters in the movie. Sometimes they get treater like ‘the wife or whatever or ‘the sex object.’ Every character is an opportunity to create a fully rounded three-dimensional character that can carry emotional weight. That can carry comedic weight. That can deliver on all of these other different ideas and I think early on I caught on to that idea and certainly the opportunity. Wedding Crashers was [where I saw] the women could drive all of these scenes and carry all of this comedy and push all this stuff and put the guys into a situation where they are in a more submissive situation which lets you go farther with sexual content. If it’s the other way around, it’s not funny. I looked into that. Plus, I think that they are interesting character.

Certainly in this movie, you knew when you read the script that for Leslie’s character, Jamie, she carries the entire emotional weight of the movie and you realize that the guys, at a certain point where spinning into like losing themselves and if you didn’t have that character in a real situation, you weren’t going to be able to follow the film to the end. For Olivia’s character it would have been a very easy role, all you needed really was a hot girl. It was very simple. It would have succeeded at that level, but it’s not interesting that way. You want something that’s compelling. You want the audience to fall in love with these characters as well and be invested in them.

I always look for strong women, and to play strong women I look to strong women who are strong actresses and can carry the dramatic weight and also have comedy timing. They were both amazing. I’m totally thrilled with how they both succeeded in the roles.

And, what is it like playing opposite strong women like Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde?

JB: It fit really well in this film because there’s a lot of offensive things that [our] characters do, and to earn that acceptance from the audience and have it not be repugnant or repellent, the audience has to empathize with [us]. We are basically playing victim, a lot, throughout the whole film. That was very intelligent form the writer’s perspective. It let’s you do a lot of crazy things that the audience sort of feels bad for you. By having strong women dominating them and emasculating them at certain points, it just earns you more leeway, comedically. In an R-rated movie you want to push things as far as possible. I don’t know if that was a conscious effort on their part, but it work for the film.

RR: Leslie’s a fantastic comedic actress as we all know. A lot of these movies tend to [put women as two-dimensional characters], it could be very thankless. It’s very easy to just paint her as the nagging offensively, stereo typical wife role, but she’s complex and hot and funny and charming and interesting. Their life might be touch stale, but that’s what happens. Olivia, that girl just brings so much to the table. The mouth on her. Like a sailor. Just amazing. It takes a lot of comedic chops to play a role like that, and not let it turn like the person is just going along with it. I like that she’s getting this guy into as much trouble as his buddy was.

Pushing barriers in comedy films:

Is there a preference between PG-13 or R-rated comedies?

RR: For me it’s always R. Every PG-13 movie comedy I’ve ever done, you always have that inevitable moment halfway through shooting where you call the studio to ask, “Are you sure we can’t go R with this because we just shot something terrible?” I understand why PG-13 exists. You’re appealing to four quadrants as opposed to two or three. The freedom is incomparable. You can get away [with more]. The only reason that you do a body swapping comedy, which has been done before obviously, but the only reason that you do it is if you can show that if we were to live in an absurd world where two drunk idiots piss in a magic wishing well and they switch bodies, you get to experience what it would be like. What it would be like is horrible. Horrible, horrible things would happen and terrible things would be said and done, and to bring that up under the screen in a PG-13 way, there’s absolutely no point. When it’s meaningful, in a movie like this, I prefer it. There’s [also] times when you’re in a PG-13 movie when it doesn’t need to be rated-R. It’s nice. It’s very easy to fall back on the the idea you can swear your way out of a scene. It’s nice when you can let it all hang out, and not worry too much about going too far, and if we go too far, well that’s the director’s fault and he can figure that out in post.

Do you feel pressure to push the envelope, with movies like The Hangover?

DD: I don’t feel pressured. This movie was started two years ago. What showed up this summer was just a reaction to people embracing this kind of comedy. And I think, like anything, you can’t go doing the same thing over and over again. You want to push boundaries. If you’re in the lineage or Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy, you’re trying to do that. There was a long stretch, in the late 80′s and the 90′s, of PG-13 comedies and R-rated comedy made its way back to attention. Now that you’re in the arena, it’s like if you’re going to go do it, go do it. Just stretch it and see where people will go. I think there’s a part of it that, why does anyone want to go on a roller coaster if it’s not going to have an upside down loop on it? There’s no point. Everybody is suppose to get a bit sick. That’s the fun of it, and some people more than others. There wasn’t a consciousness. I had no idea what they were doing in Hangover II or in Bridesmaids for that matter and the writers wrote it all in the script. I was following a blueprint that was making me laugh out loud when I read it. That’s what’s fun about it. That’s what exciting.

On set, did you ever have that pause where you thought, maybe that’s a bit too much?

RR: Yeah. There was a few of those moments. For me there was a couple of moments in the lorno (porno) that went a little far. I don’t typically look at a schedule in advance which would be a wise tip for some young, up and coming actor to know that when your mom is coming to visit. that was the two days that my mom came out to Atlanta to visit. I introduced her to my porn-mate and proceeded to get in there and do the best I could, without throwing up on someone’s back. That was tough. There was a few moments in that sequence that aren’t in the film that will perhaps be in the DVD which are just too far, way too far.

JB: I didn’t feel like there were gloves on during this film. We could have kept going further and further, but there’s a balance that you have to strike. You don’t want to get the audience numb to stuff that is shocking and that’s what makes Dave such a good director. If you have it all be shocking and crazy all the time you have just static. He’s got a great ability, as do the writers, to bring it down, have it touch earth every once in a while and then take off again. This is a pretty good movie.

DD: On set, I push everything as far as I possibly can and then I pull it back in the editing room based on what an audience thinks when I test it. We test these comedies a lot and everyone has a moment that goes too far. Anything everyone unanimously agreed on is probably not in the film anymore and interestingly enough you’ll be surprised how hard people laugh at something they said they didn’t like which I cannot answer to that phenomenon but that is part of being an R-rated director. You realize that you will watch people laugh about something and then afterward when you ask them they will say that is too far, and it should be removed. It’s a weird thing.

David Dobkin’s The Change-Up hits theaters August 5, 2011.

Horrible Bosses: Movie Review

Damon Houx — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:00:55 +0000

Halfway between the “put the camera down and let them riff” style of Judd Apatow productions, and the “tight and visually stylized” Todd Phillips aesthetic, Horrible Bosses takes a high concept premise but then lets its actors play in this dark and funny comedy. The film stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudekis as men tormented by their employers, who drunkenly decide that homicide is justified in their cases. As director Seth Gordon told us, it’s a relate-able premise. Find out more below…

The Players:

Director: Seth Gordon
Screenplay: Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein
Actors: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudekis, Kevin Spacey, Jennier Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell
Original Music by: Christopher Lennertz
Cinematography by: David Hennings

The Story:

Nick Hendricks (Bateman) has accepted that his job sucks, but his boss Dave Harken (Spacey) keeps suggesting a big promotion is on the way. Dale Arbus (Day) loves his girlfriend and wants to marry her, but his boss Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) holds out his sex-crime record (he urinated in a playground) over his head, and threatens that if he doesn’t sleep with her, she’ll fire him. Kurt Buckman (Sudekis) loves his boss Jack Pellit (Donald Sutherland), but can’t stand his over-privileged and drugged out loser of a son Bobby (Farrell). When Jack dies and leaves the company to his son, and after Harken takes the promotion for himself and tells Nick that he will be his slave, the three decide that murder is a good way to get rid of their mutual headaches. So they go to a black club and try to hire someone with experience, which leads them to Motherf*cker Jones (Foxx), who becomes their murder consultant and tells them to kill each other’s bosses so there’s no linkage.

The Good:

The Set-Up: Even if the film has to acknowledge its debts to Strangers on a Train (and the films that ripped it off), everyone has been made miserable at least once by someone in a position of authority. That the gang is mostly incompetent only adds fuel to the fire. But it’s a great starting point.And though Todd Phillips’s The Hangover Part II is way slicker, in most ways this is a better sequel to the first Hangover.
Jamie Foxx: His character is having as much fun as you could possibly have in his situation. He’s got a bunch of naive men willing to pay him money because he’s black. He’s got a nickname because his original name is too weak, and his ten year bid was for something that turns out to be one of the best jokes in the movie. And though Foxx was used similarly as comic relief in Due Date, he really kills this part and walks away with the movie.
Jennifer Aniston: Though Spacey is good, he’s played the paranoid and smarmy boss before. And while it’s also fun to see Colin Farrell play ugly, you want a little more of him in the film (it’s understandable why he’s kept to a certain minimum, he’s a cokehead). So it’s Jennifer Aniston who really pops. She’s the one playing against type and she’s the one who gets to be the most ridiculous problem (on some level, it’s too bad that Day’s character isn’t a homosexual, so his reticence was a little stronger). She’s the one it’s most fun to watch act horrible.

The Lightning Rod:

Charlie Day: The divide with this character seems to be this: the people who enjoy his performance in Horrible Bosses are fans of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, while those who find it too high pitched aren’t familiar with his previous work. Having not seen Sunny, my response was that – though he was playing the “dumb” character of the three – he was just pitched too high and a little too stupid. But there was a similar critical divide when Jim Carrey hit the big screen. Day isn’t the same sort of divisive talent, but it’s interesting to see him be both the high and the low point for many watching the film.

The Bad:

The Ensemble: Sudekis and Bateman have done this before (with Sudekis, he’s paying pretty much the same character from Hall Pass), and their performances aren’t that memorable. The leads don’t pop, but that works to the movie’s benefit – for them to be likeable they have to be schlubby, and incompetent (at least at murder). And the film could take a little more of Farrell because he is going so far out there you want to marvel at how “ugly” he made himself.
A Sense of More: The film works, and it works well on its own terms, but there is a sense that a couple more passes of the draft, or something might make this a classic, versus a good night at the movies. Films like these are balancing acts, and there’s nothing so much wrong as a sense that it could go a little further or a little stronger with some things. It’s hard to tell if that’s playing it safe, or knowing the limits of audience alienation.

Overall:

It’s easy to tell when a comedy is good or bad because if you laugh, then it’s good. Though it’s no comedy classic, Horrible Bosses is one of those films that works well enough that the laughs are there, and everyone gets enough good moments for the film to work. And that’s all it needs to be.

Rating: 7.5/10

Horrible Bosses hits theaters July 8. Check it out.

Gallery:

Paul: Movie Review

Krystal Clark — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 01:20:52 +0000

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost reunite on the big screen this weekend for their new comedy Paul. Like they’re previous works, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, which poked fun at the horror and action genre, Paul places the focus on science fiction. It’s a comedic take on what would happen if you mixed the movie Alien with Fanboys. Check out our review…

The Players:

Director: Greg Mottola
Screenwriters: Simon Pegg and Nick Frost
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio, Sigourney Weaver, Jeffrey Tambor, Jane Lynch, Blythe Danner, John Carroll Lynch
Cinematography By: Lawrence Sher
Original Music By: David Arnold

The Plot:

Clive and Graeme are two sci-fi enthusiasts who travel from the U.K. to the U.S. to attend San Diego Comic-Con. After the convention wraps they take a road trip across the Southwest, where they visit several famous UFO landmarks including Area 51. During one of their stops they meet Paul, an alien who’s on the run from the government. He enlists the help of Clive and Graeme, who dodge FBI agents, red necks, and Bible thumpers to get him where he needs to be.

The Good:

Simon Pegg/Nick Frost: The chemistry between these two is undeniable. They’re naturally funny apart, so when they’re together comedy ensues. If you’re a fan of their previous collaborations, you won’t be disappointed with their performances in Paul.
Paul: Paul is a pleasant surprise. At first glance, he comes across as a rude, slimy, untrustworthy creature but he’s actually a heartwarming character that you learn to love as the movie progresses.
The Big Guy: Sigourney Weaver plays the main villain, who’s affectionately called The Big Guy. Her casting in this role is pure genius considering her longstanding battle with aliens for the majority of her career. There’s only a choice few actresses who can pull off masculine characters believably and she’s one of them!

The Bad:

Throwaway Characters: There are more than a few oddballs who interfere with Paul, Clive, and Graeme’s journey including a couple of agents in training, some hillbillies, and a religious zealot. All of them are one dimensional characters who serve no purpose to the story. They could have scrapped them and given more screen time to those who mattered.
Agent Zoil: I love Jason Bateman, therefore it hurts me to say this: Agent Zoil dropped the ball. The majority of the film, Zoil is the straight man against all the other goofball characters, a role that Bateman is used to pulling off (Arrested Development anyone?) but his character wasn’t fun, witty, or interesting. Anyone could have played Zoil. It didn’t have to be Bateman. His talent was wasted here.

Overall:

Paul is a road trip movie that pokes fun at the sci-fi genre and the fan boy culture. It’s campy and comedic fun.

Rating: 7.5/10

Paul opens in theaters everywhere on March 11th.

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Will you be seeing Paul this weekend?

Olivia Wilde Joins Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman in The Change-Up

Krystal Clark — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:14:06 +0000

Someone needs to give Olivia Wilde’s agent a raise because the woman gets cast in everything. Wilde has a part in this December’s Tron Legacy, next summer’s Cowboys and Aliens, and now she’s landed a role in The Change-Up. According to Deadline the actress has signed on to star alongside Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman in the body-switch comedy. Lucky lady!

In the film, “Bateman plays a married man who switches bodies with slacker best friend (Reynolds). Wilde will play the married guy’s law firm co-worker, who’s an impetus for the body switch.” So not only is she a doctor on “House” but she’s also an associate at a law firm? Is there anything she can’t do? The Change-Up will be directed by David Dobkin for Universal Pictures, who will be a following up his comedies Wedding Crashers and Fred Klaus.

On another note, the screenplay for the film is written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, whom previously penned The Hangover. How many male-centric comedy alums can one movie have? The body-swap story has been told more times than any of us can count, but with Reynolds and Bateman as leads who can say no?

What do you think of the cast of The Change-Up? Are you interested in seeing the film?

The Switch: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:00:36 +0000

This weekend the semen comedy of the year, The Switch starring the easy-going Jennifer Aniston and “baby-faced-man-boy” Jason Bateman hits theaters. It’s a bit of the twist on the usual love story it’s ultimately, just another funny enough, easy to watch, rom-com. Luckily it does have a few qualities that will make your time in the theater worthwhile (provided you have popcorn and preferably a drink or five beforehand).

Check out the good and the bad below…

The Players:

Directors: Josh Gordon and Will Speck
Writers: Allan Loeb (screenplay) and Jeffrey Eugenides (short story)
Actors: Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Jeff Goldblum, Juliette Lewis, Patrick Wilson
Music By: Alex Wurman

The Plot:

An unmarried 40-year-old woman turns to a turkey baster in order to become pregnant. Seven years later, she reunites with her best friend, who has been living with a secret: he replaced her preferred sperm sample with his own.

The Good:

Dialogue in the Opening: A lot rom-coms take a while to get going, but the dialogue in the opening few scenes to this film is Mamet-esq. It’s fast paced, doesn’t bother to explain itself and pushes us right into the film. Sadly it doesn’t stay that way throughout, but it definitely has some good moments.
Jason Bateman and Mini-Bateman: It’s a sweet, humorous relationship. It’s got some heart and the two play off one another quite well. Bateman plays his usual character with a few extra details thrown in. He’s great (as always) with dry humor and his child counterpart seems to be as well.
Jeff Goldblum: He appears to be mocking the film from within and yet for some reason it worked. His lines were one dimensional but he was at least entertaining and made certain dull lines more interesting.

The Bad:

Predictable: Though they add in the whole “semen” twist this is definitely a pretty standard rom-com, it follows the “sure-hit” structure to a T. It has enough jokes to that make you chuckle and enough heart to make you kind of care — but there is nothing original here.
No Connection: Though they gave Bateman’s character a lot of layers and he was a solid character, there is no explanation as to why they’re together and there’s never any real chemistry between them. I guess this film is a lesson on settling?
Convenient Ending: The whole movie seems to wrap itself up in a short montage, and there’s no third act. The big second act “reveal” happens and then with one short conversation everything is settled. If it’s something that easy to solve than it’s not really a problem and then why should we care?
Lack of Change: The movie takes place over 7 years and despite a few grey streaks in Bateman’s hair (which appear to come and go) and some extensions on Aniston, they look exactly they same. Would have been nice to see a little more change over such a long period of time.

Overall:

If you’re looking for something light and fluffy this is definitely it despite Bateman’s hard edge. Overall it’s just fine, better than expected, but it is what it is.

Rating: 5.5/10

The Switch is in theaters August 20th!

Photos:

Trailer:

The Switch Clip – Jennifer Aniston’s on the Prowl

Krystal Clark — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:42:55 +0000

The first clip from Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman’s film The Switch has been released and it has us on the edge of our seats (sarcasm). The movie opens in theaters on August 20th and we were wondering when they were going to kick up the marketing for this thing. Aniston hasn’t exactly had the best of luck when it comes to romantic comedies this year. Check out this scene from the movie and tell us what you think…

As you can see Kassie (Aniston) wants to get a little help from her best friend Wally (Bateman) in the baby-making department. She’s a successful woman who wants to start a family but unfortunately time isn’t on her side. Without a steady partner in her life and no real prospects, she opts for a sperm donor as her only logical solution.

The twist on this whole scenario is Bateman’s character is secretly in love with her and somehow will mix up his “man-juice” with that of the donor’s, resulting in a is it or isn’t it his kid scenario down the line. Doesn’t that sound hilarious?! It will be like a typical episode of “Maury.”

What do you think of the first clip from The Switch? Are you interested in seeing the film?

Source: Yahoo

Jason Bateman Cut in Line for iPhone 4

Krystal Clark — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:26:46 +0000

I love Jason Bateman but I’d cut off his arm if he tried to get in front of me while standing in line for the new iPhone! Yesterday, the world was in a frenzy as Apple unleashed their iPhone 4 and according to THR, the actor got preferential treatment. Plenty of celebrities were at the Apple Store trying to get the new device but Bateman’s the only one getting called out — for cutting in line.

Bateman was waiting his turn just like everyone else, fighting the heat, and trying to stay cool when he got a tap on the shoulder from an Apple Store employee. They pulled the actor out of line and took him inside so he could get first dibs on a phone. When he walked out with the coveted device he got, for lack of a better word, iBooed by the other patrons.

To be completely honest, what he did sucked and people had the right to be steamed BUT I’m more upset at the Apple Store for allowing it to happen. They’re the ones who came and picked him out of the crowd and gave him the go ahead. So if anyone should get the grunt of the backlash it should be them for picking and choosing who gets what first. The Average Joe works just as hard for their money as any actor, singer, or random celebrity.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Who do you think was in the wrong Apple or Bateman?

Photo: Wenn

Jennifer Aniston Circling Horrible Bosses

Krystal Clark — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:37:30 +0000

We’re convinced that Jennifer Aniston is afraid of change because over the past few years she’s played the same character in all her films. She needs to pull a Julia Roberts and do an Erin Brockovich type role so we can be reminded that she has acting range. But until then, THR is reporting that Aniston is in talks to star in a developing comedy called Horrible Bosses.

Horrible Bosses is a Seth Gordon directed film that centers on a group of frustrated employees. Some of the characters include a master manipulator, a sexually aggressive dentist and a weaselly scion. Aniston along with Colin Farrell, Jason Bateman, and Charlie Day (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) are all in negotiations to star in the comedy. The plot kind of has a Strangers on a Train set up by focusing on three friends who agree to kill each other’s bosses.

Aniston is in talks to play the flirtatious dentist who continues to hit on Day’s character, while Farrell will play the weasel (why are we not surprised?).

Bateman is a man who believes that his hard work will be rewarded but hits bottom when he gets passed over for a promotion. Day plays a hapless guy who’s always in the wrong place at the wrong time. A part still to be cast is a ladies’ man who gets a rude awakening when his boss dies and he is replaced.

The fact that no one falls head or heels in love with anyone else in this movie is a breath of fresh air. But it still sounds like Aniston is sticking with situation comedies and refusing to show any real growth as an actress. Remember when she starred in The Good Girl and everyone felt like her career showed promise? Maybe after she bombed in the thriller Derailed she got scared and decided to stick to what she knows best. Either way, it’s getting old.

Are you interested in seeing Horrible Bosses? What do you think of the premise?

Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman’s The Switch Trailer

Krystal Clark — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:38:38 +0000

The first trailer has been released for Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman’s latest film entitled The Switch. The movie was originally called The Baster but the name was changed for reasons we’ll explain below. The project appears to be another wonky, romantic comedy that the actress can add to her growing resume. See for yourself…

The story for the film centers on two best friends (Aniston, Bateman) who become parents of a child in a very unconventional way. Aniston’s character plans on using a sperm donor played by Patrick Wilson, to impregnate her via artificial insemination. Bateman on the other hand is madly in love with her and wonders why she didn’t ask him to do the honors. During one drunken night he accidentally switches Wilson’s sperm for his own and seven years later wonders if he’s really the father of his best friends son.

The cast for The Switch also includes Jeff Goldblum and Juliette Lewis, and it pains me to say that this film looks mildly funny. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it when I heard about the concept but Bateman makes everything better for me. He knows how to walk the line of comedy and sincerity, and am I the only one who finds it hilarious that Goldblum is in his 50′s but playing a “wingman” type of character?

Here’s the trailer…

What do you think of the first trailer for The Switch? Does it look funny?

Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds Join Change Up

Krystal Clark — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:00:40 +0000

Jason Bateman is typically entertaining in everything he does. It doesn’t matter if it’s a comedy or a drama, he finds a way to put a smile on your face and for his latest project he’ll get some on screen help from fellow smart ass Ryan Reynolds. According to Deadline Hollywood both actors have signed on to star in a comedy called Change Up.

Change Up fits in the genre of body-switching films like Freaky Friday and 13 Going on 30 except it won’t involve a teenage girl. It will be directed by David Dobkin from a script written by The Hangover scribes Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. That combination must have been a heavy incentive for Reynolds who was originally being courted to star in a supernatural comedy for Universal called, RIPD but he jumped ship when he noticed Change Up was given top priority.

In the film, “Bateman plays a family man who accidentally swaps bodies with his best friend, a single slacker actor played by Reynolds. Each gets a glimpse at what he missed, and an appreciation of what he had.” Typically, rehashed movie scenarios bore me to tears but seeing these two on screen together might be magic waiting to happen. Both have great comedic timing and can pull off witty dialogue. With The Hangover writers on board, they may have another major hit on their hands.

What do you think of Bateman and Reynolds co-starring in a movie? Do you think they’ll make a good team?

LFF: Up in the Air First Look

Mali Elfman — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:01:11 +0000

Just walked out of an LFF screening for Up in the Air and had the feeling of “finally.” The film stars George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, and Jason Bateman, in a story about a guy who travels around the US firing people and becoming a master traveler.

Overall the film used ideas that we had seen before, but in a new and fresh way. There was the guy that travels and refuses to settle down, a young plucky employee shoving out the “old guy”, and a problem that must be solved. The ending you could see a mile away, but the feelings that came with it was not what you would expect. In a way Jason Reitman the director/writer found a new way to use cliches, making them a new form of non-cliche-cliches. To top that off, he finally gives a good reason for a man running through at airport to get to a woman, so for that I thank him.

On the surface the film can seem a bit depressing. It deals with people being fired due to the economy and the reality behind, which is hard to watch and yet in a strange way, optimistic. It’s difficult to imagine this being so but my hats off to Reitman for successfully portraying it to an audience.

Although it’s lead by slightly depressing subject matter, the way that they dealt with it was what made it so successful. It felt real. They finish telling their story, and yet there’s no package with a bow on top. It’s a complete thought without being over indulgent or self important.

In the end, it’s not the people who loss their jobs that are left with nothing, it’s the people who just… keep… going for no reason. A nice final little touch from the filmmaker comes at the very end of the film. If you stay through the credits you’ll see how getting fired and following your passion can open doors for you in ways you probably never thought possible at your “safe” job…

Some of my favorite points:

The Script: Well written and executed. The dialogue was some of the best I’ve heard in a long time. Just as funny as it is smart and poignant.
Real Life: The honest portrayal of people of all ages and at all stages of their lives.
The Ending: Although in ways predictable for the worn movie-goer, it was still alive and refreshing.

Of course I’ll write out my full review when the film is release, but for now it’s safe to say that the movie does leave you feeling optimistic while at the same time a bit up in the air about your own life and your own choices.

The film will be hitting theaters December 25th. Perfect for the holidays, especially those who might be having a rough year and need a realistic pick me up.

About to head off to the press conference so I’ll be back soon with more!

ScreenCrave.com » Jason Bateman

The Change-Up: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 7/10

Gallery:

Trailer:

Related Posts

Interview: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman and Director David Dobkin Talk The Change-Up

Making The Change-Up:

Working with strong female characters:

Pushing barriers in comedy films:

Related Posts

Horrible Bosses: Movie Review

The Players:

The Story:

The Good:

The Lightning Rod:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 7.5/10

Gallery:

Related Posts

Paul: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 7.5/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Related Posts

Olivia Wilde Joins Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman in The Change-Up

Related Posts

The Switch: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 5.5/10

Photos:

Trailer:

Related Posts

The Switch Clip – Jennifer Aniston’s on the Prowl

Related Posts

Jason Bateman Cut in Line for iPhone 4

Related Posts

Jennifer Aniston Circling Horrible Bosses

Related Posts

Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman’s The Switch Trailer

Related Posts

Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds Join Change Up

Related Posts

LFF: Up in the Air First Look

Related Posts