While “The Switch” may come across as a typical and cliché movie about best friends who fall in love with each other, the film’s father-and-son interplay makes it more endearing.
After Kassie Larson (Jennifer Aniston) finds a sperm donor, her best friend Wally Mars accidentally switches the donor’s sperm with his own. The film feeds off the duo’s reunion seven years later when Larson has a 6-year-old son named Sebastian (Thomas Robinson), and Mars remembers he “hijacked” his best friend’s pregnancy.
While Jason Bateman stars in yet another role as a neurotic father, the “Arrested Development” actor delivers a solid narration. He and Robinson share much chemistry. As the father is tucking his son into bed or teaching him how to deal with bullies, viewers will have no trouble believing their relationship is real.
Aniston, however, never seems to leave her sitcom days as Rachel from “Friends.” Her performance is not memorable and becomes lackluster compared to those of Bateman and Robinson.
Despite Aniston’s predictable character, Allan Loeb’s screenplay is smart and funny. If anything, the film is guaranteed to provide a combination of giggles, tears and life lessons along the way.
“The Switch” was written by Allan Loeb and Jeffrey Eugenides and directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck.
To see this review published in The Ithacan, click here.
Pass the Popcorn 