L'échange

If the Hollywood studios still made the type of urban comedies they made back in the early 1970's starring George Segal (usually) as a neurotic nebbish, then Jason Bateman's big-screen career would certainly be secure. As he displayed consistently on "Arrested Development", the actor's dry delivery and slyly observant manner are a perfect match for Wally Mars, the comically cynical equities analyst he plays in this sadly overlooked 2010 romantic comedy co-directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon (who much to my surprise, helmed the Will Ferrell figure-skating comedy, "Blades of Glory"). Although he is the true protagonist of the story, the movie was marketed as a Jennifer Aniston vehicle. She plays rising TV producer Kassie Larson, his long-ago girlfriend who has relegated him to the "friend zone" even though he obviously hasn't gotten over her.

Written with verve by Allen Loeb (who also co-wrote Aniston's recent 2011 movie, the Adam Sandler starrer, "Just Go With It"), the story revolves around Kassie's ticking biological clock. In a seven-years-back flashback, she is seen deliberately bypassing Wally as a possible sperm donor in favor of a more predictable candidate, Roland, a struggling associate professor at Columbia, who happens to be married and drop-dead handsome. At an "insemination" party, Wally gets wasted and drops the carelessly placed vial of Roland's semen down the bathroom sink. This leaves Wally no choice but to replace the sample himself. Kassie eventually becomes pregnant and moves back home to Minnesota. Flash forward to the present, and Kassie returns to Manhattan with her six-year-old son Sebastian in tow. The fact that Sebastian acts like a miniature version of Wally gets completely past Kassie but not Wally who slowly realizes that out of his stupor years ago, his son was conceived.

Although this indiscretion would seem like the perfect excuse for Wally to reveal his true feelings for Kassie, complications ensue when she starts a relationship with Roland, now desperately on the rebound from a bitter divorce. At the same time, Wally forms a close bond with Sebastian who naturally gravitates toward him because of their mutual idiosyncrasies. Bateman handles Wally's evolution from self-absorbed fatalist to paternal protector with aplomb and surprising depth. Aniston is better served here than in most of her standard-issue romantic comedies, and the sharp interplay between these two actors, especially in the beginning scenes, is refreshingly rapid-fire like a modern-day "His Girl Friday". With his constantly forlorn expression interrupted by moments of genuine happiness, Thomas Robinson is terrifically understated as Sebastian, and his unforced scenes with Bateman represent the true high points of the film.

A crack supporting cast has been assembled. As Wally's best friend and manager, the sarcastic ladies' man Leonard, Jeff Goldblum takes a predictable role and gives it his special, off-kilter twist. The result is his funniest turn in years, for example, his use of the term "ill-advised" during the moment of revelation is hilariously unexpected. The same can also be said for Juliette Lewis, who plays Kassie's constantly inappropriate best friend Debbie with her spacey delivery intact as she slings clever putdowns at Wally. Even Patrick Wilson, saddled with the no-win role of the golden boy Roland, who has no capacity for honest introspection, is funny in a role that gets diabolically transparent as the proceedings get complicated. The 2011 DVD/Blu-Ray offers a standard set of extras - a fifteen-minute making-of featurette ("The Switch Conceived"); about ten deleted and alternate scenes running for nearly half an hour in total, one a more purposeful variation on the central scene; and a brief blooper reel. Give it a try.

well, I rented this film only because it was the only one that I hadn't see from redbox. I usually do not like Jennifer Aniston in anything but the TV show Friends, and quite honestly she wasn't great but she certainly did not 'sneeze on the buffet'. It was Jason Bateman that really carried this film. He's a very under-rated actor. The film is about friend of the opposite sex, with one, the male of course, having more feelings than the other. When he finds out that she wants to have a baby and is looking for the perfect man for his sperm, he's hurt cause she didn't pick him. The film really explores parenthood in the modern age and also dynamics of friends, and even fatherhood. It's a comedy, but it has many dramatic and poignant elements to it. I'd recommend it.

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.

"The Switch" is like a romantic comedy, except better because it gives you everything you want: romance and comedy with a story and characters. They buck the trend to make the romantic elements absurd and instead shower us with comedy and very little sap.

Jennifer Aniston is just a cute girl that the audience can accept as a character, but Jason Bateman is everything you want in a leading man. Very good looking but not in a typical way, plays up neurotic with aplomb, and is hilarious all the way through. We easily fall in love with him from beginning to end.

"The Switch" actually gives us a story, one where our hero has to evolve and mature as he realizes and understands the value that Aniston and her son bring to his life. Again, Jason Bateman is the kind of man that we have been waiting for in romantic comedies, because he actually has the talent to portray all of that, and do it with comedy. A romantic comedy that is cute, funny, romantic, mature and where you actually welcome the story line - what more could you ask for?

What a strong cast for such an average film. Having the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, and Jeff Goldblum is a headstart on almost any romcom, but I felt that none of them were the right casting choice for their respective role. Aniston was the only one who felt like she belonged, but like any romcom, a love interest is required and Bateman fell flat. Both Aniston and Bateman performed great, but the lack of chemistry was palpable. The funniest thing about this film was how poorly Goldblum fit into his role. He essentially plays the low-screen time advice friend to consult Bateman's character, yet he maintains Goldblum's "larger than life" persona. I am not typically crazy about romcoms and this one lands right at the median for them in my opinion.