Friday was date night for my husband and I. Unfortunately, due to the fact that my last 3 picks of movies had been disastrous, I was at the mercy of his selection. Which may not seem to be a big deal how-ever our tastes are drastically different. If I could sum up his palette of films it would be; Mall Cop, Coneheads, Super Troopers and Hot Tub Time Machine; not my thing. Ironically, we comprised (the joys of marriage) and decided on The Change Up – a semi-romantic comedy. Ha! Little did I know what this movie would really entail.
The Cast:
Ryan Reynolds > Mitch Planko
Jason Bateman > Dave Lockwood
Leslie Mann > Jamie Lockwood
Olivia Wilde > Sabrina McArdle
The Rundown:
Two best friends (Dave Lockwood and Mitch Planko) meet up for a night of male bonding over beers, football and gossip (who ever said men don’t gossip like women are de-lussional). Lockwood is a married man of 3 beautiful girls and a lawyer by profession. Planko, is an over sized child who refuses to grow up. He’s an, a-hem, actor who lives the bachelor life fully. Hence, the 20 minute gossip fest the two share over beers at a bar while Planko indulges Lockwood about his sex-capades with various women. As if the stories itself aren’t good enough, Planko pulls out his cellphone and proceeds to show Lockwood multiple sexts (sexual text message pictures) of him in complicated sex positions that I’ve never even heard of. Perhaps these ladies never got to see the MTV commercials on the dangers of sexting – if you haven’t, check it out here.
At this point, the movie is “cute” and has its moments of funny until our boy Lockwood turns into the typical i – hate – married – life complainer (insert the roll of my eyes). Here is where the movie lost me. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not biased based on the fact that I’m married – I’m annoyed by the fact that men seem to forget that they are not the only one’s who have to sacrifice in a marriage. Perhaps this may be a shock to some of you, but most little girls do not lie around and day-dream about growing up and cleaning after their husband, cooking dinner every night, running a house-hold, maintaining a career, birthing his children all with a smile. I’m pretty sure when both parties walk down the aisle – they both are making that pledge to one another – so why is it acceptable for men to complain about these little details of life and yet the women are expected to suck it up and deal with it?
Lets face it, no one is ready to deal with the truth that 9/10 women probably feel the exact same way as men do. But, a movie like that would never be made. If a woman is complaining about her marriage, complaining about motherhood and secretly plotting to have sex with her assistant; that all seems uglier than if it were coming from a man. The true ugliness lies in the acceptance that society bestows upon men and over shadows on women. If there is to be a discussion on marriage, even in the genre of comedy, show both sides. No doubt, it was funny when Jamie Lockwood (the wife) sauntered into the couple’s master bathroom in sexy lingerie, the husband instantly prepping himself for a night of dirty deeds, only to have her sit on the toilet with the door wide open as she began to have the worst bowel movement I have ever heard. But, how about depict a time where the husband steps out-of-bounds? I have one > they’re snuggling in bed, she’s getting in the mood…when she looks over and see’s him picking his nose! Ew!
Can some one say fair game?
Over all, the movie was predictable. The only good that came out of this was, the movie was so horrible, it put me and my husband back on equal playing field for picking horrible movies. Next one, we’re flipping a coin. 🙂
Review The Reel 