The Swap (2016)

**Be careful what you wish for while texting in the app.**

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_

Decent watch, probably won't watch again, and can't recommend.

There are just too many other things to watch out there. This clearly had a budget and a few good ideas that were innovative and added substance to the movie, but a LOT of this movie is just a bad version of "Mean Girls". Because they did a boy / girl swap, there is a lot of focus on gender specific observation and humor, instead of parental / child swapping that focuses on more of a set of responsibilities based on necessity as opposed to social construct.

This also shares a lot with "The Gender Card Flip", where a guy and a girl go to an alternate dimension where gender roles are arbitrarily reversed, but this feels lesser as it's a teen drama about their superficial lives (most of the time).

Where the movie actually gets really good is when it focusing in on its characters, and the emotional journeys they're on as young adults dealing with real problems and loss. None of which requires this "body swap" trope, nor is it a key focus of the movie: it's ever present, but is used more to justify the audiences time as a big payoff.

I think for younger audiences and / or audiences that turn their brain off, this will be fine, but I'd still recommend the 2003 "Freaky Friday" or "The Gender Card Flip" and "The Hot Chick" for older audiences.