Plot: What’s it about?
As I sat watching “The Switch” it somewhat hit me: Jason Bateman has been around for quite some time. The actor, now 41 years old (as of this writing) has literally grown up on the television and movie screen. He had a supporting part in the 80’s Ricky Schroeder series “Silver Spoons” but came to more notable acclaim a few years later in “The Hogan Family.” As you may or may not know his sister, Justine, had a part in one of the bigger television shows of the 80’s, “Family Ties.” But unlike so many child stars, Jason Bateman has managed to hold onto his acting career and has found the most success he’s had in his life in the past five years of his life. His starting role in “Arrested Development” paved the way for his parts in films like “The Kingdom” and “Hancock.” And then you’ve got Jennifer Aniston who we all know and know way too much about. Her choices, film wise, have been somewhat hit and miss which is odd considering she always plays the same exact character.
Wally (Jason Bateman) is a stock analyst. Yes it can be exciting but he doesn’t have one of “those” jobs. His longtime friend Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) has hit a wall and she’s ready to have a child. The trouble is that she’s not currently seeing anyone. Kassie, together with her eccentric friend Debbie (Juliette Lewis – yet another child star who’s managed to hang onto her career) decide to enlist the help of a sperm donor. In this case it’s married jock Roland (Patrick Wilson). Wally isn’t sure what to make of the situation so he gets three sheets to the wind drunk and winds up replacing the donor sperm with that of his own. It so happens that Kassie then moves to Minnesota and seven years later decides to move back to New York. Wally has kept in contact with Kassie but after seeing her son, puts the pieces together that he’s his own. Couple this that Kassie is now dating Roland (who’s been divorced in the seven years) and it’s somewhat of a conundrum. Will Wally break the friendship mold and tell Kassie the truth or will he stand by and let Roland and kassie progress?
“The Switch” is a cute little movie, no doubt about it. I found it a tab bit predictable but pretty much every film that falls in the “romantic comedy” genre is as well. Bateman and Aniston are perfectly good in their parts, though I could probably see any variety of actors fill those roles just the same. But hey, at least its void of Kate Hudson, right? I do have to admit that I was intrigued to find two “A” list actors in an offbeat comedy like this. I might not think that Jennifer Aniston is the greatest actress in the world, but I will have to say that anything she’s attached to has got to be worth checking out at the very least. “The Switch” certainly isn’t a bad movie and it does have a few moments. It’s non-offensive and there are far worse ways to pass a couple of hours, for sure.
Video: How does it look?
Lionsgate has presented “The Switch” in a 2.40:1 VC-1 HD transfer that looks, by and large, fairly good. Granted this isn’t a movie put out by one of the major studios, but Lionsgate does take care of its titles. There are plenty of shots of New York and the surrounding areas that all look good. Flesh tones are a little inconsistent with skin looking somewhat washed out one scene and sunburned in others. Detail is perfectly acceptable and contrast and black levels seem to be within appropriate range as well. There’s nothing that really stood out as being overly bad or good with this, it serves its purpose and looks perfectly fine.
Audio: How does it sound?
Romantic comedies aren’t really known for their robust audio tracks and “The Switch” isn’t one to break that mold. There’s a bevy of popular songs embedded in the soundtrack, but the movie is dialogue driven which takes the lion’s share of the audio. The front stage tackles the dialogue and though the surrounds are present, they’re essentially out of the picture so to speak. Again, like the video there’s nothing that’s overly good or bad with how this sounds, it merely serves its purpose.
Supplements: What are the extras?
There’s not a lot of substance to the included featurettes. We start off with “‘The Switch’ Conceived” which is essentially an EPK as we learn how Aniston became involved in the movie as well as Jason Bateman’s casting. We get some interviews with some other cast members as well as the writers and directors. There are several deleted scenes as well as an alternate ending which I’m glad they didn’t use. We round out the supplements with a blooper reel.
