Reviewed by GREG KING

Director: Tom Brady
Stars: Rob Schneider, Anna Faris, Matthew Lawrence, Eric Christian Olsen, Robert Davi, Michael O’Keefe, Adam Sandler.

There has been a common theme running through Rob Schneider’s previous films, the moderately amusing Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and the dire The Animal, as both comedies loosely dealt with mistaken identity and role swapping, and capitalised on the comic’s flair for physical comedy.  And these elements again dominate Schneider’s latest film The Hot Chick, a comedy that revives the tired old role swapping genre that dominated such films as Dating The Enemy, Like Father Like Son, Vice Versa, Freaky Friday, etc, without adding anything particularly fresh to the formula.
Thanks to a pair of ancient earrings with magical powers, Clive (Schneider), a loser and petty thief, somehow swaps bodies with Jess, the high school cheer leader and spoiled bitch queen.  While trying to readjust to the sudden change and cope with life in a 30-year-old dude’s body, Jess becomes a nicer person, more appreciative of her friends and dysfunctional family.  But Billy (Matthew Lawrence, from Mrs Doubtfire, etc), her jock boyfriend is freaked out by the whole situation.
The premise of The Hot Chick doesn’t really make a lot of sense, but that doesn’t seem to matter here as the writers have opted for cheap and easy laughs. Given Schneider’s presence, The Hot Chick resorts to a base, adolescent level of humour, which may appeal to fans of offensive, puerile teenage comedies of the American Pie and Porky’s school.  The film is full of toilet humour, and features a strong streak of gay oriented humour and gratuitous references to bodily functions.
The whole thing is directed in unsubtle fashion by Tom Brady, who also seems unable to rein in the excesses of his narcissistic and largely unfunny star. As with Schneider’s previous films, The Hot Chick has been produced by close friend Adam Sandler, who, as usual, makes a small uncredited appearance here.
Not a great nor particularly memorable comedy, The Hot Chick will no doubt appeal to its target audience.

**