The story behind “The Switch” starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston is simple. Kassie (Aniston) informs her best friend Wally (Bateman) that she wants to have a baby. Kassie wants Wally to assist her with the selection of a donor. No impersonal sperm bank here. Kassie does not want any anonymity in the process, choosing instead to know who the father of her future child will be. Unfortunately for Wally, he’s not in the running, that is, until in a drunken moment of abandon Wally chooses to replace the chosen donor’s team members with his own. So there it is – the switch. Kassie becomes pregnant, moves away, has the child and then moves back. What follows is the occasional hilarity as the aftermath of this bizarre set of circumstances plays out.
Let’s face it. Romantic endeavors wrapped in the term “relationship” are work, hard work. The transition from the relationship’s rosy dawn “this-person-can-do-no-wrong” stage to the cold and bitter midnight of the “I’d-rather-be-coated-with-honey-and-eaten-alive-by-siafu” doldrums can, and often does, happen all too quickly. One too many of the “what are you thinking” or “I thought we’d stay in tonight” and the mind desperately searches for an exit.
Rom-Com’s (romantic comedies) exploit this phenomenon with the familiar plot line of someone-meets-someone, then someone-loses-someone, only to have these two helpless souls get back together and have a great life. Fade to black. Often predictable, but that is precisely what audiences pay good money to see – the romantic notion that in spite of two people being completely wrong for each other, love will prevail over any exigent circumstances. With divorce rates north of 50% for first time marriages and 60% for marriages on the second go round, movies may be the only place these freak occurrences actually happen.
“The Switch” does not veer far from the path of the familiar rom-com genre. Written by Allan Loeb, the script is based on a short story called “Baster”, which was penned by Jeffrey Eugenides. Though the material is predictable, Loeb handles the dialogue between Bateman and Aniston with skill. Essential banter is the essence of a romantic comedy. Such exchanges are present in this movie and the dialogue possesses biting wit. Characterizations are somewhat flat and cliché, however. Kassie is the ambitious, career woman whose biological clock is winding down. Even though she is not in a relationship, she apparently can only be a whole person if she becomes pregnant and has a child. Wally is the friend, former beau who is slightly neurotic, otherwise known as the geeky best friend.
While there is nothing particularly novel in the script, Bateman owns the acting space as Wally. He is in his element as the every-day man, who is at the fringes of social activity, not quite fitting in, nor really caring to. Bateman’s performance is subtle and nuanced, and he plays the best friend in love with his best friend with adroit skill. Aniston’s performance as the choose-to-be single mom is on point, but the script does not allow her to do much with her talent. Jeff Goldblum plays a character named Leonard, who, fascinatingly enough, does a Jeff Goldblum impression in every scene. It is okay, however, Goldblum / Leonard is hilarious as Leonard / Goldblum.
Like every relationship, “The Switch” has its problems. In the negative column, the short story on which the film was based was published in 1996, and it may be because of this that the film feels a bit dated. The movie is rough around the edges when it should be polished, long at times where it should be short. The story is familiar, but this can either breed contempt or be a source of comfort. The check marks in the positive column are that Bateman and Aniston play well off of each other, and Goldblum adds comedic energy to the mix. “The Switch” is greater than the sum of its parts. While flaws are present, the film can be likened to a relationship in which it is understood that no one’s perfect, but the point is that no one has to be. Enjoy the journey, and in the end, it will have been worth it.
"The Switch" is playing at various theaters around the KC Metro area, including the AMC Studio 30 in Olathe and Palace at the Plaza.
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