The Switch (Gordon & Speck, 2010)

Last updated on: January 10, 2015 at 10:45 pm by Kenneth R. Morefield

The Switch (Gordon & Speck, 2010) 2015-01-10T22:45:40-05:00 Kenneth R. Morefield

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Earlier this summer, i said that the most important thing to know about The Other Guys was that it was funny.

Probably the most important thing to know about The Switch is that it is not.

This is not necessarily as damning a pronouncement as it might initially appear to be, though. The film’s advertising references Little Miss Sunshine, and what humor there is here is more of the bittersweet, “or else you’d cry” variety. The best scenes are of the more sentimental variety and usually take place between Jason Bateman and child actor Thomas Robinson.

Maybe the second most important thing to know is that The Switch is not really a Jenifer Aniston movie. She’s sweet and pretty in one of those dreary romantic comedy type of roles where her job is to fall for the jerk while ignoring the guy who is seemingly perfect for her, all while trying to not come across as a narcissistic, self-absorbed nincompoop. The film accomplishes this feat in pure sitcom fashion, by having characters forever on the verge of saying what an actual human being would say, only to be interrupted by a contrivance that makes it never the right moment to state the obvious.

Again, though, I’m speaking about the conventions of the romantic comedy, and The Switch isn’t so much incompetent about these conventions as it is ambivalent about them. The real chemistry is between father and son, and if that means we only really want Aniston and Bateman to get together so that we can see more interactions between Bateman and Robinson then that’s enough–so long as we don’t realize that the only thing that would be lost without the Kassie character would be the contrived excuses necessitating emergency baby sitting. I had this quixotic notion in the last five minutes of the film that I was watching a prequel to John Hillcoat’s The Road.

While I am on the subject of The Switch not really being a romantic comedy and not really being a Jenifer Aniston film, I may as well go ahead an just say that I think this film has the single worst movie poster I can remember. Yeah, picking on advertising is a bit like watching sports and complaining about stadium food, but, I mean, who exactly saw the shot of Bateman grimacing into an open, used semen receptacle and said, “That’s our one sheet!”

Of course, the poster’s confusion about what sort of movie The Switch is–raunchy comedy, romantic comedy, emotional bildungsroman–is symptomatic of a larger confusion about who the film’s target audience is. Guys who think life would be so much better if they discovered they had a son? Women who want to fantasize about getting pregnant out of wedlock and then movie away from their supporting network of friends for seven years?

And yet, for all that, the film works a bit more often than it has any business doing. The main reason for that is Bateman, whose talent is such that he occasionally lulls you into believing you are watching a real human being responding to a real situation with real emotion rather than a character responding to a situation for which there is no realistic response. I’d love to see what he could do with a role that was a bit more substantive.

Blog Disclosure: AS

Previous Post

August 13, 2010

Eat Pray Love (Murphy, 2010)

Next Post

August 27, 2010 Takers (Luessenhop, 2010)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 10 Years Later 1999 Top 5 2007 Top 10 2008 Favorite Discoveries 2008 Top 10 2009 Favorite Discoveries 2009 Top 10 2010 Favorite Discoveries 2010 Top 10 2011 Top 10 2012 Top Ten 2013 Top Ten 2014 Top Ten Best Picture Winners Christian Spotlight on Entertainment Christianity Today Coming Soon Disclosure Disclosure--AS Disclosure--Book Disclosure--DVDS Disclosure--SEOL Disclosure--Travel Dissenting Opinion Elsewhere Emergenetics Essays Featured Film Fest DC--2014 Film Festivals Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2014 Headline Interviews Laura on the Oscar Winners Podcasts Quick Impressions Reviews RiverRun Film Festival 2014 Television The Criterion Collection The Thin Place To Stream or Not to Stream? Top 10s and Other Lists Toronto International Film Festival 2009 Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Toronto International Film Festival 2011 Toronto International Film Festival 2012 Toronto International Film Festival 2013 Toronto International Film Festival 2014 Uncategorized Video Virginia Film Festival 2011 Virginia Film Festival 2013 Women's Film Festival 2012

Select a Month February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How did Jesus heal the mute and deaf man in Decapolis?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Anointed his head Said "Go in peace" Put fingers in ears and touched tongue Gave bread