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Reagen Sulewski: This is a solid result for a comedy that sold itself without the aid of any jokes. I have to reiterate my "Really? We're still making these films?" comment - they were tired and stale when Fred Savage was starring in them.

Max Braden: I like ridiculous buddy comedies in August, like The Other Guys last year, which opened to...$35 million. I think the problem is you really have to go for the ridiculous and not the paint by numbers approach to win. "Sure it's just like other body switching comedies, but *this* one is for adults!" isn't going to cut it. I may be just thinking of the fountain, but The Change-Up didn't look much different than the horrid 'curse' movie When In Rome. I wonder if screenwriters Lucas and Moore thought they were going to coast to easy money on this after The Hangover hit big.

David Mumpower: I disagree with Reagen about the body swap comedy in principle; I believe 17 Again stands up against any film ever made in this sub-genre. In other words, the concept doesn’t need to be fresh to avoid the feeling of being dated. And while I see some people here locking in on much bigger features as comparisons, my opinion is much more simplistic on this particular topic. Out of all of the summer 2011 comedies, The Change-Up has the least funny trailers. Even the reason why the principal leads perform the body swap is cynical. “We don’t have a good idea as to why, but wouldn’t it be funny if Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman switched skin for a while?” The rest of the clip demonstrates how little story there is beyond that premise. It’s like everybody quit trying after the pitch was purchased by the studio. Bad Teacher, Horrible Bosses and Bridesmaids have all earned a ton of money because they exist beyond their easily described concept. The Change-Up does not and that’s why it won’t make money during its domestic release.

Everything old is new again...and again...and again.

Kim Hollis: Are you concerned about the lack of fresh, new ideas this summer?

Brett Beach: Not anymore so than in most summers over the last 10 years (i.e. my adult life, and I do wonder if most people my age feel this way vis a vis this summer's slate vs what they liked when they were 12 or 14. For every Who Framed Roger Rabbit, there is a Jaws: The Revenge). Most of the $200 million-$300 million budgeted films aren't made for adults so I know you either go and "turn your brain off and have a good time" or you don't. (On the "keep your brain on" end of the spectrum, I saw Malick's Tree of Life and it astonished me about as much as I hoped it would.)

Looking ahead to next summer, it looks to be pretty much the same ratio of "original ideas" (10%) to sequels (40%), reboots (30%), TV adaptations (15%) and non-fiction book adaptations (5%). And though my cynicism remains the same, I will make exceptions for a few and one or two will blow me away. And that is why I still love movies.

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