My oh my, 2010 must go down as the year of the babies. Hot on the heels of Jennifer Lopez’s disappointing The Backup Plan comes Jennifer Aniston’s The Switch. Make this the fourth film in almost as many months looking to cash in our continent’s baby craze. Hope springs eternal on this vital issue.
New York City is the centre of the universe – sorry Toronto. Busy workaholic Kassie Larson is getting on in years. Many near 40 women yearn for a child and our Kassie is no exception. A radiant looking Jennifer Aniston (Marley & Me) definitely has a glow on for this character. Not even a special chat with best buddy Wally Mars can deter her from her desire to have a child – before it’s too late. Cast as Wally is Jason Bateman (Couples Retreat) who gives his all as a friend in need.
Patrick Wilson Comes up Lame as a Sperm Donor to Jennifer Aniston no less
Under the exterior, however, Wally may harbour more than just mild feelings for Kassie. That relationship gets “intensified” when Kassie decides she wants a sperm donor to give her a child. Imagine the chaos when “accidentally” that all important seed of life goes astray. Only Wally knows the truth behind the missing specimen, or more importantly, his role in its removal and reinsertion.
Once that birth occurs it creates even more tension between Kassie and Wally. Seven years later Kassies’ son bears a fairly pronounced resemblance to Wally and you can guess from here on in what happens. Taken from a short story, The Switch seems like an interesting idea but its been done before and falls flat. Each of the main characters is likeable enough but you can’t really sense any tremendous emotional pull between them. And sperm donor Patrick Wilson (Hard Candy) gets saddled with an even more ridiculous character whose actions you can run a Mack Truck through since they are spotted a mile away.
Goldberg Sharp, Lewis Over the Top in this Messy Comical Romance
Slight humour comes off well through consummate performer Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) while the friend bit by Juliette Lewis (Whip It) seems shrill and is way over the top. Directors Josh Gordon and Will Speer have both done better work before. Blades of Glory was a gas while The Switch stalls. This again is a film that is a combo of comedy/romance/serious drama. Too many cooks spoil the broth and the filmmakers should have overemphasized one of these traits instead of devoting equal time to them. Even 102 minutes here seems too long despite good work from Goldlblum and likeable Thomas Robinson who makes a great film debut as their little bambino, Sebastian.
Though not stillborn, The Switch is definitely a women’s only type affair. Oh, go ahead and bring your boyfriend/hubby, though I’m sure they’d be more at home teeing off with The Expendables.
Robert Waldman - Hi. I'm a film critic from Vancouver, British Columbia Canada, considered to be the number one city in the world and third largest film ...
