In this week’s The Change-Up, Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds lead completely different lives—each envious of the other’s—until a drunken wish comes true, and Bateman’s Dave is suddenly thrust into the enviable life of bachelorhood while Reynolds’ Mitch acquires the wife and kids he’d always wanted.
It’s a concept that got us thinking: What if celebs with similar disparities swapped lives and careers?
Hmmm…
Kristen Stewart and Snooki:
One detests attention; the other would quite possibly cease to live without it. One is, you might say, a tad serious, loath to force even the most insincere of smiles upon her tortured-artist face; the other genuinely might not even know the word serious. But the real reason this swap needs to happen is so we could all witness the should-be-SNL-skit that is Snooki in the Twilight franchise and Stewart on Jersey Shore.
Seth Rogen and Mel Gibson:
It’s not just religion that separates them, but it sure as hell would be the most fun aspect of this change-up. Picture Mel in the next Judd Apatow flick, bantering R-ratedly with guys like Segel and Baruchel on Bar Mitzvahs and such. (Oy!) And then mentally replace Gibson’s vitriolic, vulgar voice message to Oksana Grigorieva with a Rogen version: stoner drawl, stoner laugh, vaguely Canadian accent … He could make all of Mel’s forthcoming public disasters even funnier!
Werner Herzog and Ryan Seacrest:
“Ziss … is zee American Idol!!!” Herzog, the iconic German auteur behind everything from Fitzcarraldo to Grizzly Man, would probably be up for this swap—if only because he’s always game for a social experiment or challenge. Seacrest, meanwhile, could parlay his transformation into an E! reality show.
Lindsay Lohan and Christina Hendricks:
Lindsay could finally be considered a sex symbol AND a legitimate actress, the dichotomy she’s worked so damned hard to achieve. And in such a switcheroo, Hendricks could pick up right where Lindsay left off: appearances at court wearing inappropriately skintight attire and appearances out of court wearing tops that, wouldn’t ya know it, just seem to keep falling off! Maybe? Please?
Larry David and Daniel Day-Lewis:
Think about it: Daniel Day-Lewis needs to conquer the art of comedy; he needs to. Instead of going Method or merely shadowing a source of inspiration, he could literally become that person. As for L.D. – well, they say beneath every great comedian is a great dramatist (or something like that). Come to think of it, maybe they’re not so different…
ALSO…
Jay-Z and Michael Caine: “I possess 99 predicaments; however, a Cockney bird shan’t be one such.”
Christopher Mintz-Plasse and James Gandolfini: Because there might be a Sopranos movie someday on which Gandolfini passes. Enter McLovin.
Zach Galifianakis and Leonardo DiCaprio: They’re not only polar opposites in the looks department. Facial hair, too.
Sarah Silverman and Judi Dench: Silverman would have to seriously curb her talk about doodie and arm hair, because that’s not Dame-like!
Verne Troyer and Tommy Lee Jones: I mean … why the hell not? Answer us that.
