Have you ever watched a comedy whose plot you thought was relatively straightforward but then surprised you by not taking the route that would deliver the utmost comedic payoff? Where it does just enough right to elicit a few decent laughs, but then bypasses lots of fertile ground in an attempt towards some sentimental gravitas? If the film succeeds in acquiring that emotional heft, then it’ll do quite well with audiences and attract a fair amount of box office earnings because it’s accessible and entertaining. It’s the sweet spot for the dramedy. The Switch missed that sweet spot. It has the underpinnings of a decent comedy but then forgoes it all in the name of a father-son story that never pays off in a way that justifies turning away from trying to make us laugh.
Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) and Wally (Jason Bateman) have that rare breed of coed friendship that managed to survive failed romantic attempts in favor of a long-term platonic existence. Now they’re best friends, providing the running commentary on one another’s choices, whether they are good or bad. Given Wally’s penchant for being somewhat of a pessimist, his take on Kassie’s decision to pursue artificial insemination courtesy of the seed of a married alpha male sperm donor (Patrick Wilson), they have a fight and don’t see one another until the fertilization party wherein the donor deposits his sample into a little cup and Wally goes on an alcohol and medication-aided bender. Fuzzy on the details, he wakes up at the house of his co-worker (Jeff Goldblum), with the faint memory of having replaced the donor’s sperm with his own after accidentally spilling the cup. The pregnancy takes and Kassie moves away from New York to raise her son, only to return seven years later with a neurotic seven-year-old with many of the same tendencies as Wally. Kassie brings both Wally and the recently split donor into her child’s life, forcing Wally to decide whether or not he tells Kassie what happened roughly eight years ago.
For about the first 45 minutes, The Switch has all the makings of a great comedy of errors that could have potentially great payoff if only the writers would have let things keep building upon themselves towards increasingly funnier situations. It had the necessary cast to make it possible. Aniston, while not a great comedic actress unto herself, gets lots of support from Bateman who has near perfect wry delivery when he wants to. Bateman’s comic stylings are a perfect match with Goldblum; I’d never realized how the two embodied different forms of neurotic sarcasm until The Switch put them in multiple scenes where they just fire back and forth. The two have unique delivery, but their brand of humor is nearly identical. Bateman just carries it off with more of an air of self-confidence than Goldblum, who has always relied on that eternally caught off guard vibe. Patrick Wilson makes his pseudo-antagonist as likable as possible, but neither he nor Aniston are really ever contributing to the film’s laughs. Aniston’s only contribution comes in once the film takes a turn for the sentimental and she gets to play the woman conflicted between maternal instincts and romantic inclinations.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The extras on the disc are rather standard and arguably even barebones. Without even a basic audio commentary by Directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck, all we get is a bloopers reel, a brief behind the scenes featurette, and a selection of deleted scenes with introductions by the directors. Considering the film’s inability to find the right balance between drama and comedy, the commentary would have been especially welcome to hear the directors and writer Allan Loeb discuss their choices.
With a middle-of-the-road film like The Switch, It’s not uncommon to get a digital copy and bunch of filler extras to make people feel like they’re getting the bang for their buck that the film itself failed to deliver. Alas, Lionsgate failed to deliver those things here. The Switch on Blu-ray begs the question as to why it’s worth anything more than a rental.
"The Switch" is on sale March 15, 2011 and is rated PG13. Comedy, Drama. Directed by Josh Gordon, Will Speck. Written by Allan Loeb. Starring Jason Bateman, Jeff Goldblum, Jennifer Aniston, Juliette Lewis, Patrick Wilson.
