Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston will swap bodies in a new comedy film from Palm Springs filmmaker Max Barbakow. Amazon have landed the rights to the film after a bidding war between several studios and streamers. Barbakow will write and direct, while Margot Robbie‘s production company LuckyChap Entertainment will produce.
There’s no plot synopsis for the film, or even a title, but with the success of Palm Springs – which utilized a Groundhog Day-esque narrative – and films like Ticket To Paradise (with Roberts and George Clooney) and The Lost City (starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum), there is more of a demand for star-driven comedies at a time when the genre is otherwise struggling commercially.
Ticket To Paradise and The Lost City each grossed over $150 million at the box office, so a genre that was once a Hollywood staple, then as recently as a few years ago was barely made at all, might be making a bit of a comeback.
Roberts and Aniston as the leads should be exciting for fans, but don’t discount Barbakow behind the camera too. Palm Springs was arguably the feel-good hit of 2020 – admittedly a low bar, there wasn’t much to feel good about that year – with its irreverence and flawed but likeable characters. Anything close to that with this Roberts/Aniston project would be welcome.
Roberts is currently filming thriller Leave the World Behind, which also stars Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke. Aniston is currently filming sequel Murder Mystery 2, which will be her first movie role since the 2019 film. Other upcoming projects on Amazon include romantic comedy Somebody I Used To Know and documentary Judy Blume Forever.
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