The modern romantic comedy is all about the gimmicky plot. Reese Witherspoon is a dumb blonde going to Harvard Law School to win back her old boyfriend. Heath Ledger needs to be paid to date Julia Stiles so Stiles’s sister can date Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Matthew McConaughey is going to date Kate Hudson for only 10 days and then during that time….God, that plot is too stupid to type.
"The Switch" is not as frivolous as those. In a drunken state, Jason Bateman’s Wally accidentally replaces Jennifer Aniston’s ideal sperm donor’s ingredients with his own. Seven years later, she returns to the city with a child who acts remarkably like him.
There are two movies going on here. There is the grumpier version of "Kramer vs. Kramer" and then there is a McConaughey Dumb Flick. The first kind is great, the second kind is…disappointing. While the rest of the cast knows this movie isn’t Shakespeare, Bateman is firing on all cylinders. There have been plenty of “cynical” characters in romantic comedies. Those are usually just mistaken for sarcastic bores. Bateman’s Wally is someone who does not smile. People are irritating and they are usually stupid.
His performance and his dialogue is something that isn’t seen in a typical romantic comedy (sans his clichéd blind date gone awry by pessimism). He handles his neurotic nature not as a punchline but as a sad way of life. So when Sebastian, his child (played by Thomas Robinson), shows the same morbid tendencies, he feels really sympathetic towards him. He never says this outright, but he knows he can help him get through the hard stuff in a way no one did for him.
The two of them together are just great. There is a long sequence when he has to be like a dad and clean the child of his lice. It was honest and not full of kooky gags like Bateman falling into the tub.
When the film doesn’t work is when it’s forced by its gimmick. Actors like Jeff Goldblum and Patrick Wilson bring a lot of fun nuances to their familiar characters. Aniston, on the other hand, just brings it down to utter cliché. There is no reason whatsoever that Wally should keep this a secret. All it does is lead that portion of the plot down the same tired and annoying paths. Despite Bateman’s earnest attempts, his relationship with Aniston is never believable or pressing.
With a script so smart in select characterization, it’s depressing to see it fall upon such an obvious structure. Since this movie is targeted to those who like typical romantic comedies, won’t they be the ones to first recognize the same scenes and speeches repeated with nothing new to add? Instead of listening to Aniston complain about lies and interrupting by saying “I know what you’re going to say,” I’m just going to hang with Wally and Sebastian and buy picture frames.
The DVD has a 15-minute making-of featurette that isn't too bad. The writers get to talk a bit about the conceit of the story, which is a nice change of pace. A lot of it is various people like the directors and actors trying to make it more unconventional. There are also deleted scenes that aren't too memorable. The Blu-ray has additional deleted scenes, including a different ending, as well as bloopers.
Film: 3.5 Yaps Extras: 2 Yaps