¨It`s complicated, it`s messy, it`s about horrible timing, and fumbled opportunities, and not being able to say what you need to say when you need to say it. At least, that`s the way it was for me.¨
The last film that Josh Gordon and Will Speck had directed together was the sport comedy Blades of Glory staring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder. The Switch is a very different type of comedy, it`s a romantic one which perhaps was marketed in the wrong way. Like any other romantic comedy it is very predictable, but I found it very entertaining and fresh at the same time. I think the main problem is that they marketed The Switch with Jennifer Aniston as the leading character, and although she is one of the leads she is perhaps the least entertaining one of the movie. Jason Bateman is the true star of the movie and this is the role he is perfect for as the kind of pessimistic likeable character. The kid, Thomas Robinson, is also great in this movie and I think his relationship with Bateman`s character is the central part of this movie and what makes this romantic comedy work. I was more interested in the relationship between Bateman and Robinson than the actual romantic love story. The dialogue in the movie was also pretty good. Allan Loeb did a much better job with this script than he did with either of his two 2011 films (Just Go With It and The Dilemma). Loeb did have a lot of help considering he adapted the screenplay from Jeffrey Eugenides`s short story ¨Baster.¨ I expected The Switch to be just another chick flick, but I ended up enjoying it a lot more thanks to the performances from Bateman and Robinson.
Wally Mars (Jason Bateman) and Kassie Larson (Jennifer Aniston) have been best friends for a long time. They used to date in the past, but that was a long time ago and Kassie decided Wally was more of a friend type of guy. They`ve had a great relationship over the years, but Kassie realizes that time has gone by rather quickly and that the moment to have a baby is now. She is not willing to wait any longer for the right person to come along; it is time to be a mother, and the only way to do so at the moment is through artificial insemination. Kassie`s friend, Debbie (Juliette Lewis) decides to throw her an artificial insemination party once she has chosen Roland (Patrick Wilson) as the sperm donor. At the party Wally gets drunk and when he goes to use the bathroom he finds the sperm and accidently dumps it while playing around with the sample. Wally replaces the lost sperm with his own, although he is way too wasted to remember what went on. His manager and friend, Leonard (Jeff Goldblum) reminds him about everything he had done once he got home, but Wally has no recollection of what went on. Kassie becomes pregnant and decides that New York isn’t the place to raise a child so she tells Wally she is moving back home. Wally never tells Kassie his feelings for her, because he himself isn’t sure about them. Seven years go by and Wally receives a call from Kassie that she is returning to New York with her young son Sebastian (Thomas Robinson). Sebastian is very similar to Wally and thus the comedy begins and the plot thickens.
The relationship between Sebastian and Wally is the true highlight of the film. Robinson proved in his film debut that he can act better than pretty much any other child actor. He was really captivating and believable in his role. Bateman also was great in his role as he began to realize that he had a sort of special connection with this kid. The chemistry between them was for more believable than the one he had with Aniston. Aniston played her usual self; she did a decent job although her role wasn’t very memorable at all. The two supporting characters in this movie were great: Jeff Goldblum and Juliette Lewis both played really funny characters and delivered some of the funniest lines in the film. I really loved the performances and actually enjoyed this movie more than I had anticipated. The Switch worked thanks to these special performances and moments that the movie had; it allowed me to see beyond the typical and predictable love story that so many romantic comedies have grown us accustomed too. So considering all I`ve said I`m going to recommend The Switch although I admit it is very predictable at times and there is no doubt whatsoever as to what direction the movie is going to take. If you don’t have any problem with that then you might enjoy The Switch as much as I did.
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