Body Swap

Thankfully, indie films fill the gaps and tell stories that the big studios are no longer willing to consider unless a big name is attached, and the studio owes them a favor. First-time filmmakers Jimmy Kustes and Timothy Morton put their spin on the body-swapping tale with their indie comedy, Body Swap.

CJ (Ella Jordan) and Casey (Jimmy Kustes) are a couple sitting down for a documentary-style interview and reminiscing about how they met and fell in love… and how they swapped bodies. When they first met, CJ was an up-and-coming business executive overseeing the multi-million dollar sale of the company where she works. Casey, on the other hand, was an unemployed slacker looking for job interviews to extend his unemployment benefits.

“…after the two come into contact with a defective paper shredder, the two swap bodies…”

Needless to say, the job interview between CJ and Casey did not go well, but after the two come into contact with a defective paper shredder, the two swap bodies. Look, sometimes, you have just to accept the absurd and move on. So roles and goals are reversed, slacker Casey must oversee CJ’s crucial business deal, and high strung CJ has to score with Casey’s super-hot girlfriend, while at the same time learn a little something about themselves.

Approaching Body Swap requires some expectation management. The most blaring is that Kustes and Morton’s film is indie low-budget all the way. Their movie is not a multi-million dollar project, nor is it a multi-$100,000 project, but they make the most of what little they have. They are also new filmmakers, and so it’s not the most polished film in the world, but setting aside story and acting, it’s average to above-average in overall quality.

The story itself is also interesting and explores areas of the body swap genre that other storytellers haven’t touched, primarily the implications of falling in love with someone else currently inhabiting your body. It’s a fantastic and original idea.