Where's Maury Povitch when you need him?

Pictured: Thomas Robinson and Jason Bateman


Let’s face it, nobody really was expecting this movie to reinvent the wheel. Now I know what you’re going to say: “Kate, didn’t you just make a post in which you claimed that ‘The Switch’ would be the first of a new wave of intelligently-written romantic comedies?” Yes, my possibly lone reader, I did indeed. And while I don’t necessarily take back what I said in that post, I do acknowledge that I was putting a few too many eggs in one basket (pun completely intended).

“The Switch” based on the short story "The Baster" by Jeffrey Eugenedes, is charming, incredibly sweet, and has more than a few genuine laughs (most of which brought to us by Juliette Lewis). The problem is that it takes itself a bit too seriously. With a plot device as "you can't make this stuff up" as they come, the comedy needs to come from the mere fact of the situation. If you're going to have characters say the words "sperm" and "semen" in the first third, not to mention sperm confetti in the invitations to an insemination party, you need to commit to that level of bluntness (which offers plenty of opportunities for laughs). By the second half everyone is using euphemisms like "ingredient" as if they were sitting in a 6th grade health class.

While the sentimentality does get a little thick in several scenes, the performances manage to keep it away from the bottomless pit of kitchiness to which most films of its ilk are doomed. Jason Bateman in particular makes leading man Wally relatable but not completely helpless, as is often the case with underdog heroes such as these. Bateman is one of the few actors who can take the concept of playing a "nerdy type" and not run away with it into horrible caricature. Jennifer Aniston is on auto-pilot, having been playing some variation of Rachel Greene since the late 90s. But I'm not complaining. While she will probably never rise beyond films like these (and it's certainly not the worst place to be) she has an undeniable likability that may even help me forget the fact that she was in "Bounty Hunters."

"The Switch" is light, feel-good, and displays at least some respect for its audience, which is more than most rom-coms today can boast. So many late August movies get lost in the transition between mindless summer fodder and the early fall Oscar season, and while such a fate is likely to befall this film, I admire its efforts and encourage everyone to at least look out for it on DVD.