Umständlich verliebt

This film is about a woman who gets pregnant by artificial insemination with seeds from a donor. An unexpected switch causes an avalanche of events that changes her life.

The first ten minutes appear to be a bombardment of words, with constant conversation at full speed. Then the story moves slowly, and the first sign of any romance happens well after 70 minutes into the film. There is little portrayal of Kassie's dilemma between two guys and her entangled emotions, which makes the film a lot less engaging. Even though the film follows the typical romantic comedy formula, the formula is so rushed that everything occurs in the last 20 minutes of the film.

The script does not work at all. It is poorly paced, unfunny and just drags on. It creates nothing to make the viewers look forward to. It does not instill any loving feelings into the atmosphere. It does not even feel sweet or romantic. There is no comedy at all, it does not make me even smile once. I normally enjoy romantic comedies, but I find "The Switch" unbelievably boring.

I think critics have been conditioned to think that any movie with Jennifer Aniston in it these days has to suck. I happily declare that this one doesn't. It has a likable romance. The dialogue is actually funny (especially anything that comes out of Jeff Goldblum's mouth). Based on the premise - which comes off much less implausible than it probably should - I was expecting a lot more lowbrow comedy and was pleasantly surprised. And Jason Bateman is a wonderful and underrated leading man. The voice-overs are perhaps a bit insipid and probably could have been skipped entirely, but that's a minor complaint. I enjoyed the film. 7 out of 10.

The Switch's first thirty minutes remind me of screwball comedies with repartee sharp, fast, and witty: unmarried Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) announces to her best friend, Wally (Jason Bateman), that she is going to arrange for a donor to have a baby. I know—we've been there this year with Back-up Plan and The Kids are All Right, yet there's plenty of room for all kinds of donations.

Bateman is at his under-acting, low key, gentle best responding to Aniston's usually cute bemusement because, as you might have guessed, he loves her but has not the daring to tell her. Then, at the donor party, he gets excited in the bathroom at a picture of Diane Sawyer and switches his sperm for the donor's.

You've seen similar romantic comedy setups where the principals know each other too well or dislike each other so much that they will be enlightened and bond by the end of the film. You know how it all will turn out, so after that smart opening, the film devolves into clichéd expectation fulfillment.

However, scenes between Wally and six-year old Sebastian (Thomas Robinson), his son by the switch but a secret to mother and son for much of the film, are well-acted given the appropriate level of dialogue, their mutual respect, and the film's unwillingness to exploit Robinson's cuteness to elicit favorable reviews. But after all, like his dad, Sebastian's a pessimist with eccentric and sometimes macabre tastes, not always exploitable characteristics. In any case, these two actors are as good as one could expect to show a loving relationship between two eccentrics who don't know for some time they are related.

Saving the film from my impending "C" grade are Jeff Goldblum as Leonard, Wally's best male friend; the cute Thomas Robinson as Sebastian, Kassie's son; and manic Juliette Lewis as Debbie, Kassie's best girl friend. With weak competition like Bow Wow in Lottery Ticket, Aniston manages to be in a film just a bit above my average. Too bad because that opening is worth seeing just for itself.

The Switch (2010)

Okay, it would be easy to dis this movie as a canned, obvious, emotionally thin contrivance. It's a vehicle for two popular stars playing characters in their 30s who are, despite good looks and basic social skills, single and childless. They have to fall in love but life gets in the way in kind of stupid ways. You can't take it seriously, and you can't even quite care enough to hope for the best, whatever that is.

But it's also easy to like this movie despite its obviousness. Jason Bateman is a joy to watch. Maybe his performance is like the movie--glib and facile. But like the movie he is endlessly watchable, and his character is the one with the most depth. His interactions with the boy of six or so are terrific. The boy, too, is adorable and helps the movie get some feeling.

Jennifer Aniston plays the woman who wants a child but has no one willing to be the dad, more or less (though the viewer knows better). And she's a terrific actress, actually, even if her role here (and elsewhere) is often not as demanding as it could be. I suppose Meg Ryan has some kind of edge on her for this kind of stereotype--the lovable lonely urban girl who just can't get love right despite the obvious--but Aniston is an update on that type.

But it is Aniston and Bateman together that really make the movie glide along and make you smile. They have great rapport and good timing, comedic and serious both. I wouldn't say they have chemistry (I guess that's the problem their characters have, so maybe it's great acting) but they make their scenes pop in a way the rest of the movie trundles.

The story writer, Jeffrey Eugenides, is better known for sprawling novels and lots of interrelated characters, but even there there are little hooks that come off a hair obvious. That's the problem here, in the end. There's a big trick, a wonderful and funny hook of an idea, and that almost alone has to handle all the consequences. Some better character development would have been a joy.

Oh, and it's been a long time since a movie with two directors has been able to pull off consistency. I don't know the logistics behind it, but maybe one of the hesitations all along is a lack of singular conviction. Or not. Maybe this is such a formula product any number of directors could have chipped in.

Watch it for the two leads together. And for some fun, warm laughs, if that's your thing. I enjoyed it.

Not your typical rom-com, but if you like Jason Bateman or Jennifer Aniston, then this is an enjoyable movie. Near the end of the film it gets so awkward. It's laugh out loud. Funny. Definitely worth the price of admission.