Boys will be boys in 'The Change-Up'

In the relentlessly raunchy comedy "The Change-Up," Jason Bateman stars as Dave, a beleaguered family man, and Ryan Reynolds plays Mitch, a carefree bachelor, whose sudden body-switch allows them to figure out whether the other's grass is truly greener. It's "Freaky Friday" for dudes, with all the bare breasts, profanity and scatological humor its target audience could want, and possibly more.

The story begins when Dave and Mitch, friends since grade school, chug a few beers and relieve themselves in a fountain while simultaneously wishing aloud, "I want your life." Lo, it comes to pass, and the two men must now meet each other's daily obligations.

For Mitch, this means winging it through meetings, juggling two tots (the film deserves credit for some daringly sick baby jokes, one involving a blender) and possibly sleeping with Dave's pretty wife, Jamie (Leslie Mann). As for Dave, he just wants to sleep, period, though he does find the energy to date his gorgeous co-worker, Sabrina (Olivia Wilde, all eyes and thighs).

The director, David Dobkin ("Wedding Crashers"), and the writers, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore ("The Hangover"), clearly know what comedic darkness lies in the hearts of men. But heart is what this movie lacks. It treats Mitch much worse than necessary, revealing him as a sexual scavenger who stoops to bit-parts in backroom porn. Jamie and Sabrina -- in fact, all women here -- are merely bodies, meant to evoke either arousal or sniggering disgust.

Reynolds is as blandly affable as ever, though Bateman, who tends to be better than his movies, shows glimmers of sensitivity. "The Change-Up" should have risked more of those moments instead of safely pandering to its supposed audience.