This post is brought to you by The Change Up.
I am a father of three. 8 years ago when my first child was born I made a personal commitment to be an engaged dad who would share equally in the parenting duties with my wife. Although there is always room for improvement I have worked hard at it and I think I have done a fairly respectable job. No kids are in jail yet, and all are regularly bathed, clothed, fed and engaged in their active lives. So when the folks from Universal asked me to take part in their early review campaign for the movie “The Change Up “, I agreed. This new Universal release is a comedy about a busy father of three (hmmm) and his single, hard partying and somewhat irreverent best buddy, with whom he unexpectedly changes bodies and lives, in an act of magic urination. Positive that I would have insights into the accuracy of content from the dad’s point of view that a non-breeder movie critic lacked, I was psyched to be involved.
Given our busy lives my wife and I decided to make hay while the Sun shines and turn our movie night into a full fledged date night. We secured a sitter and headed out to a movie and dinner, which are precious things for us. Thus, it was kind of meta watching a movie about a too busy dad wishing for more free time. Liz and I later noted that we cannot remember the last movie we saw together. Our movie habits lately have revolved around taking our 2 older children to a movie while the other parent stays home with the little guy. In a movie theater. Just the two of us. For a grown up movie. It has been too long!
The movie was funny. While not a total gut buster Liz and I enjoyed the kid free hours alone watching a first run feature film IN A THEATER! Most of the humor was fairly baudy and indulged a guy’s taste but it included enough gender neutral bits to make my wife giggle throughout- this is no easy task. While poignant moments about the burdens and joys of being a husband and father are hard to achieve in any comedy, this movie at least demonstrated that dedication to family life is indeed a supremely important value. In fact the questions raised about the need to work equally hard to be a good husband as well as a good dad were personally meaningful. (more date nights are on the way, baby!)
No doubt the high point of the movie for me was Jason Bateman. Being a huge Arrested Development fan I was excited to see him show his chops in a feature. He did not disappoint. Bateman’s got the comedic conservative guy down pat, Michael Bluth is a fine testament to that. And while Ryan Reynolds did a nice job of pulling off the sensitive sane role, it was Batmen’s portrayal of the unexpected wild man that stole the show.
At the end of the day, we were entertained. And for two working parents, who are frequently exhausted, entertainment that we take in without our children is something we have to make time for, so it has to be worth it! We enjoyed each other’s company and we took in a fun movie that made us laugh while reminding us to tend to each other as well as we tend to our children. No need to live either of the extremes portrayed by the characters in the movie: the super obsessed, hard-working responsible guy, or the fun-loving guy who indulges in every passing fantasy. On a night out with my wife for this working father, I had an opportunity to reflect on the benefits of both.
So gents I encourage you to treat your sweetie to a date night asap and if you would like it to include a free screening of The Change Up go here.
Click here to visit the movie’s official site: The Change Up
You can also keep us updated on your free screening score by tweeting with the tag #TheChangeUp
Enjoy the night out with your gal, you will be glad you did.
