The Switch (2010)

Okay, it would be easy to dis this movie as a canned, obvious, emotionally thin contrivance. It's a vehicle for two popular stars playing characters in their 30s who are, despite good looks and basic social skills, single and childless. They have to fall in love but life gets in the way in kind of stupid ways. You can't take it seriously, and you can't even quite care enough to hope for the best, whatever that is.

But it's also easy to like this movie despite its obviousness. Jason Bateman is a joy to watch. Maybe his performance is like the movie--glib and facile. But like the movie he is endlessly watchable, and his character is the one with the most depth. His interactions with the boy of six or so are terrific. The boy, too, is adorable and helps the movie get some feeling.

Jennifer Aniston plays the woman who wants a child but has no one willing to be the dad, more or less (though the viewer knows better). And she's a terrific actress, actually, even if her role here (and elsewhere) is often not as demanding as it could be. I suppose Meg Ryan has some kind of edge on her for this kind of stereotype--the lovable lonely urban girl who just can't get love right despite the obvious--but Aniston is an update on that type.

But it is Aniston and Bateman together that really make the movie glide along and make you smile. They have great rapport and good timing, comedic and serious both. I wouldn't say they have chemistry (I guess that's the problem their characters have, so maybe it's great acting) but they make their scenes pop in a way the rest of the movie trundles.

The story writer, Jeffrey Eugenides, is better known for sprawling novels and lots of interrelated characters, but even there there are little hooks that come off a hair obvious. That's the problem here, in the end. There's a big trick, a wonderful and funny hook of an idea, and that almost alone has to handle all the consequences. Some better character development would have been a joy.

Oh, and it's been a long time since a movie with two directors has been able to pull off consistency. I don't know the logistics behind it, but maybe one of the hesitations all along is a lack of singular conviction. Or not. Maybe this is such a formula product any number of directors could have chipped in.

Watch it for the two leads together. And for some fun, warm laughs, if that's your thing. I enjoyed it.

Wally Mars (Jason Bateman) is a completely pathetic man-child who continues to pine for his best friend Kassie Larson (Jennifer Aniston). When Kassie decides to have a kid, Wally isn't even in the running for sperm donor. Her best friend Debbie (Juliette Lewis) throws her a pregnancy party and Wally switches the sperm sample in a drug induced haze.

Jason Bateman plays it way too pathetic at the start. It's not a likable character. Even with the best efforts of Bateman and Aniston, they don't illicit a laugh. I think he needs to play it like his Arrested Development character. The two stars have no romantic chemistry at all. The only chemistry comes from the kid Sebastian (Thomas Robinson) and Wally. The movie would be best to focus on the father-son dynamics and skip the puppy love.

Okay, this movie had 'Hollywood Sassiness' written all over it. But it turned out to actually not be all that sassy. Sure, it was a predictable story and you knew the outcome of the ending from the very beginning. But the story unfolded in a very nice way and proved to be warm and heartfelt.

The story told in "The Switch" is pretty easy to follow, and it has some funny moments to it. Though I had initially expected more laughs from the movie. But regardless, the story turned out to be very nice and it quickly grew on you, and you fell in love with the characters.

The characters in the movie were very well portrayed and each brought their own unique touch to the movie. I was especially impressed with the performance put on by Jason Bateman, the lead actor playing Wally Mars. He was really cut out for this role, and you really bought into his performance. And the performance put on by Thomas Robinson, playing Sebastian, also blew me away. There is just something innocent and very charismatic about that boy, and he really helped carry the movie. Now, what puzzles me was the performance by Jeff Goldblum, playing Leonard, wow! Was he drunk during the shoots? It was almost unbearable to look at. And Juliette Lewis, well she brought her own unique touch to the movie, as she always does to whatever she is performing in. And as for Jennifer Aniston, well there wasn't anything outstanding in performance here, at least not in my opinion, and she seemed to be there in the second lead role based on her looks alone? To me, the story would have been the same, had they switched her out with another actress, because it was Jason Bateman and Thomas Robinson who carried this movie.

As I said earlier, I had expected this to be a comedy, so don't get your hopes up on rolling on the floor laughing. Sure, there are some funny moments. This is more of a romantic movie, one that will sit well with the lady audience. Though I, as a guy, actually found the movie to be quite enjoyable and entertaining.

This is, for me at least, the type of movie that actually can be watched more than once, because it was so beautifully put together. This movie is well suited for a romantic evening in with your significant other, and might be quite suitable for a Valentine's Day movie choice.