The Switch

I cannot say this movie was high on my priority list. It was, at one time. There was a time when the working title was The baster and I heard Jason bateman was attached that I was excited. Just from the title it seemed like an interesting, different kind of movie. It sounded like a take no prisoners take on the "desperate woman" genre that kind of disgusts me. I get that life is supposed to include a family, but there are so many movies out there featuring women who are just desperate for it, for no real reason. These characters, played by people like Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, Amy Adams and Katherine Heigl, have great jobs, great friends and every reason to be happy, but movies dictate that women are whiny, needy creatures who need a man to be validated/end rant/. However, when the title was changed and the movie "softened" get that pg-13, I became a lot less interested. On a day where it is 110 degrees outside and you have a few hours to kill, The Switch starts to look more appealing though.

Kassie Larsen(Aniston) is a successful woman, working in broadcast television, thought her specific job is never mentioned. She lives in New York city, has great friends, loves her job and is gorgeous and normal enough that she could probably find a good man. The problem is she is desperate for a kid and does not want to wait for a man. She is almost 40 years old and she needs a baby inside of her. She tells her best friend, Wally(Bateman) about it and he, of course, thinks she is crazy. She goes through with it, but because it is a movie, they have to have a party before hand. The donor, Roland(Patrick Wilson) is a great looking athletic, smart guy, who happens to be married, but they need the money. At the party Wally gets hammered and ends up replacing Roland's sperm with his own. 7 years later the story picks up with Kassie moving back to New York and reconnecting with both Wally and Roland. Wally has no recollection of what he did 7 years ago, but as he spends more time with Sebastian(Thomas Robinson), he thinks the kid might be his because they have a lot more in common than Sebastian and Roland. Wally also starts to realize he is in love with Kassie, but his neurotic, always worried mind stops him from doing anything about it.

It is hard to get too worked up over a movie like The Switch. It is a harmless movie. it has an absolutely adorable kid, likable leads, funny work from Bateman and it is not so long that it gets annoying. It will never get a ringing endorsement, but I have seen worse movies that are trying to do the same sort of thing. Aniston does fine work. She looks great, plays the desperate mother well and handles the romantic stuff with Bateman well enough. She has nice comic timing, but I have been watching Friends a lot lately and she is so much funnier there. Watching her play these desperate type women just kind of gets me angry. The script has some genuinely funny moments, especially the opening scene, but that is what made me think this script had a lot more bite to it once upon a time.

Jeff Goldblum is definitely the standout in this movie. He gets the best lines and has the strongest performance as Wally's best friend/boss. I forget just how much I like him until I see him again on screen. he is always so great in the supporting roles and hope he continues to find work in this realm of his career. He can be the new Alec Baldwin. He can be the go-to guy to play bosses in comedies for a while.

The voice over work is distracting and too cheesy for my taste, and I cannot really think of any memorable scenes except the first scene we meet Sebastian in all his cute weirdness. I like that they did not make Roland a total asshole. In fact, they made him a very nice guy, which made the eventual outcome something sweeter, because confessing your love to a girl who is with a jerk is a lot easier than confessing your love to someone who is with a good guy. Bateman deserves better, but he is really great with the kid and the scene of them getting rid of lice was totally adorable.

Final Grade: C