The Switch Movie Review
“The most unexpected comedy ever conceived.†That’s one little sentence that’s a lot to live up to. Luckily The Switch marketing team didn’t go with something outrageous like “best†or “smartest†in places of “most unexpected†in their tagline.
Most unexpected… Jennifer Anniston in a movie about an older single woman? Jason Bateman as the nerdy and non-studly yet hot-in-his-own-way best friend? An annoying, hovering, sidekick played but none other than Juliette Lewis? Ooo! Ooo! Maybe it’s the mundanely predictable ending! Oh wait, that describes the most expected comedy ever conceived, AKA The Switch.
Allow me to break this one down. Kassie (Aniston) is an unmarried 30-something-year-old who decides to take fate into her own hands by exploring the world of single motherhood. At Kassie’s “I’m Getting Pregnant Party†her best friend Wally (Bateman) drunkenly “hijacks†Kassie’s pregnancy by switching her sperm donor’s specimen with his own. Flash forward seven years and we find Kassie with a Wally look-a-like of a child who slowly brings Wally’s memories to surface. Wally must struggle with telling Kassie the truth, and fostering his newfound connection with her son, Sebastian.
This much is true, Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman are the best cast that had any hope to make this movie watchable. However, this is also a prime example that sometimes, no matter what talent you magically (or monetarily) coax into your project, a shit plot is still a shit plot. The movie has it’s charming moments, and Thomas Robinson is arguably the most adorable child actor ever, but just look at the plot line, there is no way this film could come off as anything but creepy.
Without even touching the political and moral disputes surrounding artificial insemination and choosing single motherhood, it can be said that this movie does nothing to advocate or celebrate it. K
assie’s “hijacked†pregnancy is quickly forgiven and we get the message that both Sebastian and Kassie are much better off with a father in the picture. Kassie is surprisingly shallow and predictable, instead of the strong and sensible type of women the audience expects from Aniston, especially within this kind of subject matter. Personal views aside, this message doesn’t seem to convey the same principles Aniston has publicly defended, or put the positive spin on single motherhood certain groups are so worried about.
All I can say is that I hope this disaster, supported by the hot mess that was The Backup Plan, make filmmakers everywhere realize that artificial insemination is not the next great step in romantic comedy plots. We don’t need new and weird scientific situations to bring two lovers together. I’m still perfectly okay with people meeting at work, or running into each other on the streets of NYC.
I’m giving this one 2 out of 5 reels, and that’s only because my intense adoration for Jason Bateman can’t bring myself to put 1.
Article written by Desiree Roughton on GotchaMovies.com. Reposted with permission.
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