Watch The Exchange

The Exchange, a comedy movie from 2021 directed by Dan Mazer, revolves around Tim Long's (Ed Oxenbould) life, a high school student from suburban Canada, who is struggling to find his way out of the mundane life that he leads. Tim dreams of breaking free from his town, and when he learns about a student exchange program with Paris, he sees it as an opportunity to do so. He applies for the program and is selected to go to France for a semester.

The movie picks up pace when Tim lands in Paris and meets his host family. Here he encounters a charismatic student, Clément Mercier (Avan Jogia). Clément is Tim's complete opposite, being charming, suave, and street-smart. Tim is initially intimidated by him, but Clément takes Tim under his wing and shows him around Paris, taking him to parties and introducing him to new friends. Tim starts to enjoy his time in Paris and begins to blossom when he falls in love with a French girl, Élodie (Geneviève Schmidt).

However, things take a turn for the worse when Clément arrives in Tim's hometown for his exchange adventure. Tim's school friends are instantly dazzled by Clément's charm and sophisticated demeanor, and Tim quickly begins to feel like the overlooked underdog again. To complicate matters further, Clément's intent on winning the heart of Tim's long-standing crush, Ginny (Jayli Wolf).

The movie then predominantly follows the story of Tim's attempts to win Ginny's heart, along with trying to keep his dignity intact while Clément becomes the talk of the town. Clément's nonchalant attitude and his ability to charm everyone around him bring more laughter and entertainment to the movie. Meanwhile, Ginny's attitude towards Tim starts to change, and Tim starts to gain more confidence in himself.

Justin Hartley, who plays Tim's dad, is also an essential character in the movie. At first, he comes across as an overbearing parent who's too busy with work to care about Tim's life. But over the course of the movie, he tries to make amends for his absence from Tim's life by trying to fix everything that he can.

The movie is a classic coming-of-age comedy-drama. It tackles themes like first love, high school, teenage angst, family, and friendship. It's a light, easy watch, with witty writing, and the actors' performances are enjoyable and realistic. Ed Oxenbould does a great job bringing Tim's character to life, and Avan Jogia shines as Clément, offering plenty of comedic relief in the movie. Ginny and Élodie's characters, played by Jayli Wolf and Geneviève Schmidt, respectively, offer a refreshing change in the movie. They are not depicted as the usual one-dimensional female love interests, rather complex characters with their own motivations.

The movie was shot in both Canada and France, and the locations offer a stunning and picturesque background for the story. The cinematography captures the beauty of both Paris and suburban Canada. The soundtrack is popular and upbeat, mixing both American and French music beautifully.

Overall, The Exchange is a light-hearted feel-good movie that manages to capture the spirit of teenage existence genuinely. It's well-crafted comedy that is sure to leave the viewers with a smile on their faces. The movie doesn't explore anything ground-breaking but does a fantastic job of combining comedy, coming-of-age, and romance into a heart-warming cinematic experience.

The Exchange is a 2021 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 33 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.7.