(EW.com) -- For a comedy like "The Change-Up" -- which is to say, a comedy with a message about as deep as a bowl of beer nuts -- familiarity with Shakespeare's disguise plays and Aesop's Fables isn't a prerequisite for getting the picture. On the other hand, familiarity with both body-switch comedies and Judd Apatow laffers is indispensable for understanding just where this raunchy Apatow imitation with a heart of Lipitor goes wrong. The anatomy swappers here are Mitch (Ryan Reynolds), a swingin', irresponsible single guy, and Dave (Jason Bateman), a driven lawyer/husband/dad. The switcheroo goes down because the two buddies-since-childhood do something stupid during a Guys' Night Out in their hometown of Atlanta: They pee in a fountain. Specifically, they pee in a fountain presided over by a stony statue of the Greek goddess Metis while drunkenly declaring to each other, ''I wish I had your life!'' (For the record, Metis is the goddess of counsel, advice, planning, and cunning.)
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The anatomy swappers are Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) and Dave (Jason Bateman)
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They switch lives after peeing in a fountain presided over by a statue of a Greek goddess
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Bateman, in particular, is enjoyably nimble and unbuttoned
Dave thinks he envies @placeholder's life of free sex and fiscal irresponsibility.
And that resourcefulness rubs off on @placeholder, a pleasant if less complex performer.