I’m more than happy that The Switch sold itself as a such a stereotypical clichéd bit of Hollywood romantic comedy. With its slapstick ads and seeming emphasis on Jennifer Aniston’s coy expressions, The Switch just seemed like another dud in a long line of by-the-numbers Hollywood crap. Yet, the film surprises, managing to craft characters that follow the similar story threads of a modern rom-com, but engage in these plot points in refreshing enjoyable ways.
The film
revolves around Jason Bateman’s Wally Mars, an uptight,
hypochondriac finance man who, drunk and in love with his
best friend Kassie (Jennifer Aniston), swaps his semen with
the semen of her chosen donor. Seven years later, when
Kassie moves back to New York with her new child Sebastian
(the amazing Thomas Robinson), Wally has, well, a lot to
contend with. On paper it looks like crap, you can see
what’s going to happen a mile away. I’m not giving away
anything to say that things end up well, the main characters
lovingly together, all the loose ends neatly tied together,
but because of the strength of the characters, it still
manages to thrive. Bateman’s Wally isn’t just your
typical Baxter-schlub, he’s a narcissistic, neurotic prick
that regardless of situation allows no one (sans Kassie and
his boss Leonard - Jeff Goldblum in stellar form) within his
emotional bubble. He’s abrasive in a way romantic
comedies don’t allow their male romantic leads to be.
It’s not cutesy-wutesy anger, Wally is an asshole, straight
on through and though we laugh at his jokes, there’s sadness
to the way he keeps folks at bay. When Sebastian comes
in to his life, Wally starts to change, but its a slow
laborious, uncomfortable process, as it should be.
Jennifer Aniston continues to work the magic of her bubbly
sitcom persona, but in this film it comes across as flighty,
even insincere, and it works, anchoring the character and
pushing her past stereotype.
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