The Swap (2015 TV Movie) User Reviews

There is no machine (yet) that measures movie "energy"

[A_Different_Drummer · 7/10 · 9 October 2016]

Which is precisely why it is up to the IMDb reviewers to offer these commentaries.

The Disney "machine" is unstoppable. It will outlive anyone reading this review right this moment, no matter how old or young you may be. I guarantee there will be another Disney flick about "body-switching" in the early 2020s and yet another in the decade just after. And so on. And so on.

When your grandkids see their version of this tale, they too will think it is very cool

Which brings us back to the starting point. The "gold standard" for these stories is now, and may (possibly) always be, Freaky Friday (2003). Not only did FF have a killer script but Curtis and Lohan were arguably at, or near, the peaks of their A-list careers.

Again, let's look at energy. Before writing this review, I borrowed a DVD of Freaky Friday and watched it.

In the Curtis-Lohan version, the energy level in the dual performances literally explodes onto the screen within the first 9 minutes, and amazingly maintains that hi level almost right to the end. That is impressive.

In The Swap, the energy starts very slow and builds. It never quite hits any of the highs of FF, but it never lags in holding interest either.

List and Bertrand do a yeoman job with the material they have to work with. The script by Charlie Shahnaian and Shari Simpson is bit of letdown however.

In FF, the two characters set out their respective missions off the top of the story and things escalate. In The Swap, nothing in the story seems to escalate at all, stuff just sort of happens almost randomly.

So, at the end of the day, we are left with two movies that compete based on story but on little else. One is a firecracker and one is slow burner.

My advice? If you have not seen Freaky Friday, see it AFTER you see The Swap. It will be more fun that way.

Teenage boy gets his dream of being given free range of Peyton List's body and does nothing with it

[rileymarshall-01062 · 6/10 · 5 January 2020]

While this movie forced me to suspend my disbelief about the mind of a teenage boy, I was actually pleasantly surprised by the great character moments and touching story. Overall not a bad movie at all in my opinion.

This had all been done before...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 14 November 2016]

What did "The Swap" bring to the table that other movies in the same category didn't already bring before it? Nothing much. Well, aside from it being a newer movie and appealing to the young audience of today. But aside from that, then "The Swap" really didn't offer that much.

Storywise, well it can be summarized very easily: Ellie and Jack make a wish to switch lives, and fate happens to cash in on that wish.

There, easily done. Yeah, there is little more to the story actually. Well, except for scenes where the guy has to perform gymnastics and pretend to be a girl, and vice versa with the girl having to play ice hockey and pretend to be a boy. But wait, didn't we already seen scenes like this in, say, "Freaky Friday"? To name a single classic of the role swapping genre.

"The Swap" is definitely a movie aimed at a younger audience, and I did feel quite out of the target audience. I just had a hard time fully committing to the movie and get into it. Perhaps because I already knew exactly what would happen and how the movie would end? Yeah, it was that predictable. And if you have seen one movie in this particular role swapping genre, then you have already seen "The Swap".

It should be said that the cast in the movie were doing good jobs with their given roles and characters. And the two lead talents, Peyton List and Jacob Bertrand, did carry the movie quite nicely. However, in my opinion, then it was James Godfrey (playing Porter Gibbs) who was the most memorable in the movie, given his odd and quirky character.

I am sure that this movie will be quite funny and appealing to a younger audience of this day and age. But for us mature people, this was sort of a swing and a miss. As such, I am rating this a five out of ten stars. Yeah, I found it to be a mediocre movie, because it had all been seen before.

Pleasantly surprised!

[catkins777 · 7/10 · 6 February 2021]

We were looking for a family movie and came across this...all of us rally enjoyed it. It was funny and meaningful without being cheezy. All around fun movie.

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

[Reno-Rangan · 6/10 · 4 November 2016]

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

Another Fun Body-Swap Movie

[AshleyReviews · 7/10 · 29 November 2020]

Has the "body-swap" plot been used in a comedy before? Yes. Are there better movies like this? Yes. However, although it has been done before, this is a fun, entertaining and family-friendly movie. Would watch again and recommend to anyone who is looking to watch something light-hearted and fun. 7/10.

Generic Gender Bender Body Swap

[jimmylindberg93 · 5/10 · 5 February 2017]

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.

Pleasantly surprised

[FanOfDC · 8/10 · 9 October 2016]

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.

The swap review

[maddiebuggie · 7/10 · 10 July 2020]

This movie was good. It wasn't anything special or groundbreaking but it was really good. I loved the story line and plot of the story. I loved how when they did the swap it wasn't like two people of the same gender swapping it was not only a swap it was a gender swap too. The actors in this movie was good. There lots of drama, silliness, and fun to watch. This is a super family friendly movie. I high recommend everyone watch this.

Another body transference film

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 7 October 2016]

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.

Adventures in body swap

[sanchuj · 9/10 · 5 May 2017]

I have seen a lots of movie similar to this one. In this movie the girl and the boy swap their bodies by wishing to have each other's life. But all the attempt fails to reverse the wish. So till they find a solution, they keep continue to survive in each other's lives. The movie was funny. One of the best Disney channel movies I have seen. The actors were good. I watch my favorite movies over and over till bored, so I will do for this as well.

Actually good

[noahbetancourt · 7/10 · 24 July 2020]

Just about all of the disney channel movies are dumb nowadays. The Swap is not, is has its surprisingly funny moments, and you actually care for the characters. The two main actors for a movie like this do a good job as each other. The plot is derivative of many other movies alike, but it does deal with deeper themes and they're handled well. Nothing fancy, but a surprisingly good movie.

weak Swap

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 28 August 2018]

Ellie O'Brien (Peyton List) is a rhythmic gymnast. Schoolmate Jack Malloy (Jacob Bertrand) is a hockey player. Both face difficulties. She is losing her best friend to a rival. He is being bullied by a rival. On one particularly tough day, they both end up at the nurse's station. They text back and forth arguing the other has the easier life. Suddenly, they exchange bodies. They struggle to navigate each other's life.

This Disney movie is a standard body swap movie. It's not doing anything new. The bigger problem is that the standard thing isn't done that well either. The standard thing being that the kids get to play the opposite gender. The problem here is that the characters start at somewhat similar places with similar personalities. She's afraid to confront the social bully. He's scared to talk to a girl. After the body switch happens, the gender change is limited even when they try. The easiest move is for Ellie to dress like a boy which she never does. There is a cute moment when Jack wears a towel like a girl. There are small changes when this type of movie requires big moves. The body switching device is questionable anyways. I've seen Peyton in a couple of things. The two leads admirably soldier on but it's not enough. This is an inferior body switch movie.

Delete Delete Delete Hawk And Tory Over At Disney+

[alanduran-62543 · 7/10 · 6 February 2022]

I will admit that I only came to this movie to see Jacob Bertrand and Peyton List, who now star as Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz and Tory Nichols on Cobra Kai.

The two young stars definitely carried the show, and it is plain to see they may have a long run in the showbiz industry. As for the movie, it was another retelling of an oft-told tale of body switching. The big catch here is that the two characters, Jack and Ellie, also switch genders.

I don't think it will go down as a Disney classic, but it is definitely worth a watch for those fans of Cobra Kai.

Descent

[coreycitn63 · 7/10 · 6 March 2022]

I agree that body swapping has become a tiresome troupe but The Swap was decent. When the body swap between the sexes usually the female in the male body the males behavior usually border on the effeminate which was toned down in the movie. Since this was a Disney movie they played Jack in Ellie's body in a little sexual overtones.

There should be a new Genre "Teenagers"!

[drawmydreamss · 4/10 · 15 February 2020]

So we adults can simply advoid them. I could not stand the first half of this movie.

I liked it!

[brookenichole-98054 · 8/10 · 28 April 2020]

I actually thought The Swap was great. I honestly thought it would just be okay but it was better than that. It's obviously not the best DCOM, but it's something that fills the gap of waiting for the big DCOM's. The whole idea of how they get switched is cliché but still different. I loved that they use the phones but makes them meaningful. The story is interesting and heartwarming from beginning to end. The acting from both Peyton List and Jacob Bertrand was not that bad. It shocked me at how well they each played their part. They each end up helping the other with their relationships. Jacob makes Peyton's character stronger and Peyton makes Jacob's show how he really feels. Overall I think it's worth a watch.

Don't Text and Wish

[Kamurai25 · 4/10 · 14 July 2020]

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.

Carpe Diem before Diem Carpes you

[nogodnomasters · 8/10 · 3 September 2017]

This is another mind/body swap film. This one involves high school sophomore students of the opposite sex. The cell phones are the device that magically causes the swap. Jack Malloy (Jacob Bertrand) is attempting to make the varsity hockey team. He is a borderline player under a lot of pressure. Ellie O'Brian (Peyton List) is in a dance group filled with young girls with Miley Cyrus ears (Disney really needs to diversify.) She is having issues with the new girl taking her spot with her BFF. After the swap, they see how tough the opposite sex has life while attempting to make their lives better.

This has the Disney happy ending. The film avoided the teen curiosity one would expect from such a swap, making it safe for the whole family. A fun film with some teen drama.

One of those body switch movies

[DanOtto · 4/10 · 17 February 2021]

Pretty sure the teenage boy would never leave his bedroom after switching with other teen girl, but hey you need a story. Predictable little TV movie. The two stars went onto to fight karate together.

Dialogue is an atrocity

[livesay-emily · 5/10 · 15 July 2020]

Some of the things they say in this movie is just unbearable. I can't stand it. Absolutely no one on the face of this earth talks like the people in this movie. "Jack attack" "broskinator" I'm sorry are we a 10 year old in the 80s. The film makers behind this movie need to go out into the world and listen to what ACTUAL people say in actual conversations. The movie could be fine if the dialogue wasn't sooooo cringey.

love it

[lencyt · 10/10 · 8 October 2016]

I love this movie!I've was so disappointed with Disney with Best Friends Whenever.But this I give this movie an A plus!For comedy and life lessons.You can watch it with the whole family because it is okay for teens.Watch this It has all your favorite Disney show stars!And even a Netflix star from the series some assembly required.It has Peyton List form very popular Disney series Jessie and Bunk'd and even 2 Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies!And Jacob Bertrad from popular Disney XD series,Kirby Buckets.And Koltan Stewart from Some Assembly Required.So if you are a fans of any of those shows or actors,You need to watch this movie.It even has a little bit of a romantic scene at the end! n e e d t o w a t c h

Surprisingly Deep

[bencurrey · 9/10 · 26 January 2021]

My friends and I decided to watch this movie as a Peyton List, Jacob Bertrand palate cleanser after watching them scare the hell out of everyone on "Cobra Kai."

We started with low expectations. In order to get in to this movie you need to get past bad wigs and poor plot devices. Like when the lead characters swap bodies after a simple text exchange.

However, the movie-in its depiction of exaggerated gender stereotypes-finds a way to highlight the absurdity of hyper masculinity and what we can learn from embracing both feminine and masculine. The characters, both suffering from the loss of a parent, find their own voices while embodying the other. One minute you're laughing at bad wigs and the next you're feeling something without even realizing it happened.

As a kid who grew up on 1990s and 2000s DCOMs, it made me happy to see that the movies of today maintain the camp of Disney movies of old, while advancing a socially conscious message for today's generation.

One of the best DCOMS with quality acting, background, dancing

[TheMask101 · 10/10 · 6 May 2020]

I thought this movie would be the average disney movie. Always about romance. It is not. I was really surprised. It teaches a very good lesson. I think it would relate well to teenagers.

I created an IMDB account just to write this review

[sophiespruce · 10/10 · 27 September 2020]

As a child of the golden age of DCOM movies like Cadet Kelly, the High School Musical trilogy, Hatching Pete, and Lemonade Mouth, I had low expectations for this movie. First, I've always found body swap movies weird, especially if they involve the opposite gender. However, Disney handled it a tastefully. Consent and objectification (or lack thereof) were presented so simple and easy that anyone could understand.

As far as the story goes, it's a poignant tale that teaches adolescents how to come to terms with change. This movie has a depth I rarely see in Disney channel movies. One child must learn to accept divorce and a friendship ending, while the other navigates a life filled with toxic masculinity and learns to grieve a parents' death. To tell the truth, I was in tears most of the movie. List and Bertrand are amazing in their respective roles. Would recommend this to anyone.