The Change-Up

2011’s ‘The Change-Up’ written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore and directed by David Dobkin, was a light Comedy starring the usual suspects. This time, no leading lady, but two leading men, Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds. You’ll want to keep the children inside for this one; this film is Rated R for very strong sexual content, nudity and drug-use; which although I found un-necessary at times did turn out to make me laugh. 

Hollywood has excelled at the cookie-cutter recipe for movies depending on genre; for this instance, comedy, there was a lot of crude and provocative humour, followed by retrospection, the ‘a-hah’ moment and then the heart-warming and positive ending. Not a bad formulae but a bit mundane at this point.

Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde also join in the fun as love interests and capture not only the hearts with their chemistry with cast-mates but with the audience as well. ‘The grass isn’t always greener on the other side’; a great reminder that we can’t always fill the shoes of someone else!

The Croods

This animated 2013 adventure-comedy wasn’t at all what I expected; but ‘Dreamworks’ again slashes any negative reviews and leave audiences wanting more - every - time. With a budget of $135 million USD writers Chris Sanders and writer/director Kirk De Micco developed a compelling enough story to make a profit of $187 million USD at the box office that year.

Although none of the animals depicted were biologically real animals, the dialogue, narration and heart of the tale is what gave the sense of brilliance. Viewers are able to relate despite the time-period as the humans no matter the time through history have all dealt with the same challenges. You can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends. Your family is always there for you, no matter what. The younger members always want to explore and do their own thing; find their independent and the elders always are cautious and concerned. Classic and yet told in a wonderfully colourful way!

Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, and other well-known American actors performed voices for their characters. It was funny but quite heart-warming and sentimental as well. This is one the entire family can enjoy!