Review: The Switch

The greatest thing about The Switch is that it’s so much better and more meaningful than the marketing would suggest. For one, the focus is on Jason Bateman’s character and his struggles with life and relationships in general, and not so much about him hooking up with Jennifer Aniston’s character. It also has an effective father-son subplot and is far from being another bad romantic comedy (which is a relief given Aniston’s recent bomb The Bounty Hunter).

Wally Mars (Bateman) is a thirtysomething stock broker who has a lot of quirks and issues. He moans when he eats, dresses like a boarding school student, and is in love with his best friend Kassie (Aniston) but doesn’t have the guts to tell her. When Kassie decides her biological clock is ticking and worries that she won’t find someone to give her a family before it’s too late she takes matters into her own hands and begins looking for a sperm donor. Wally is against this idea and turns into a jerk around her. Kassie finds a donor (played by Patrick Wilson) and throws a party to announce she will be getting pregnant. At the party Wally gets drunk, accidentally spills the ‘goods’ down the sink, and has to replace them (hence the title of the film). Kassie moves away before giving birth and she and Wally and grow further apart.

Skip ahead seven years and Wally is alone and miserable when Kassie calls to tell him she’s returning to New York City. Still single herself, the two go for dinner, along with her son Sebastian (Thomas Robinson). Wally immediately starts to see similarities between Sebastian and himself and with the help of his boss (hilariously played by Jeff Goldblum) the events of that drunken night seven years ago slowly start to become clear. As he prepares to tell Kassie what he did, he and Sebastian get closer and he begins to feel the father-son bond with him. Will he lose them both when he finally tells the truth or will Kassie embrace the news?

Bateman can play the neurotic Mr. Nice Guy role better than any other actor these days and he really keeps the movie interesting and charming from beginning to end. If not for him I probably wouldn’t be giving The Switch such high praise. Goldblum’s scenes are wonderful and Juliette Lewis (who plays Kassie’s friend Debbie) is quite funny as well. Sadly, Aniston doesn’t stretch far from her Rachel character on Friends and I feel her presence in this could sink it instead of giving it the audience it deserves.

The Switch works because of the scenes between Wally and Sebastian and my advice is to forget the terrible marketing and go in without any preconceived notions of what’s in store. You might just find a solid and sweet movie.

**** out of 5 stars

Rated PG
Cast: Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Jeff Goldblum, Juliette Lewis
Directed by:  Josh Gordon and Will Speck
Official Site IMDb

brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com

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