The Swap (2016)

As someone that has seen pretty much every gender bender movie out there I have to say that this movie really does not add anything new to the topics of gender bending or body swapping.The movie starts out simply with two pretty standard teenagers of opposite sexes. Both are involved in sports that are typical for their gender and both excel at it. The problem that is introduced is that both basically have only one parent each and both are troubled with both the parent that is gone and the parent that is left. The male character gets little love and is constantly pushed by his father while the female character is in the opposite situation. One day in school their distress about their situation reaches a point where they both wish that they were the other. Thanks to the magic of texting by phone (which both are totems from the parent they've lost) both get their wish fulfilled and swaps bodies.What follows is a few days of walking on the other side of the fence for both gender benders. They are exposed to a few stereotypical clichés such as TV-games and beauty salons. At the same time there is a time limit to swap back before they are stuck as each other for life. With all this going on there is a typical big game for both that they have to excel at.After they have both started to solve each others problems and being triumphant at their respective big game the two, with less than 45 minutes to go, wish to be themselves again but are still stuck.What follows is some insane time dilation where both teenagers have time to shower, get dressed, go home, have a heartbreaking moment with their new parent and both meet up at a bridge far away from where they live and finally return to being themselves.The filmmakers missed a big opportunity to add something new to this genre by not letting them remain swapped by throwing in some dues ex machina at the last minute.For a person interested in movies like this one there are better alternatives such as Dating The Enemy and It's A Boy Girl Thing.

The latest and the second Disney Channel Original Movie of the year 2016. Based on the children's book of the same name. This is a theme that we are all very familiar with. The body swapping concept and you might say not again. But this was not bad, I mean it all begins with an accident and then follows the struggle to get back normal. While doing that, they have to do certain things and that's what this film is about which narrated according to the current world scenario.This is the story of two tenth graders, Ellie and Jack. When their lives get complicated, they text each other the same wish and it becomes true. Soon coming to realise their position, they make a deal to comply with each others lives till find a solution to come out of it. The adventure begins, filled with some fun and sometimes sentimental, till the final to reveal whether they return or not.So I have seen this body swapping thing works with the ancient secret power interference. But this is a simple science fiction, like they used an app to do that. That defines todays trend what the school children upto. Well known concept, but the story was a little different. For the grown ups, it might look an average film, but surely kids would enjoy it.This is a Halloween season film, but released so early. The vierwership was very bad among the Disney Channel Original Movies like from last one decade. I'm a Disney fan, watch all the feature/theatrical films, but not that into the television. So I don't know these small screen actors, though I think they done good. The good thing is it is not a bad film, overall from all the age group perspective, it is very much an acceptable film. The kids definitely should see this, but the adults can do some research before going for it.6/10

The average viewer probably would have expected full-on comedy with a meaningless lesson at the end. It ended up being about coping with the death of a parent and dealing with divorce.. What? A lot of times I forgot they had switched bodies because I was so emotionally invested in the characters' stories. I loved the fact that the leads were not love interests. Too many DCOMs ignore that platonic relationships exist (Teen Beach Movie, Cloud 9, just to name a few). Cons: one too many music montages, having them learn a new sport overnight, some funky dialogue between the teens--no one talks like that.

Going back to the original Freaky Friday from the 70s that starred Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster, Disney and other studios have done these body transference films. Absolutely no new ground was broken here with The Swap.Gymnastic champion Peyton List and young hockey prospect Jacob Bertrand occupy different worlds in the high school social strata. She's got some fierce and jealous competition from the usual mean girls you find in these teen films who always get their's. Bertrand is a young hockey player trying to measure up to his coach father and his two older hockey playing brothers.Those cellphones that fewer and fewer of us don't have, but that teens have found to be necessary like breathing in this day and age have a magic power and through them the body transference is accomplished. And they have to live with each other's lives.Both List and Bertrand are stars of Magic Kingdom TV Teen series, Bunk'd and Kirby Buckets. It's always Disney policy to give its budding teen stars TV feature film exposure. The stars are good in their roles and they are supported by a cast of Canadian players.The Swap is easy to take, but nothing new.