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Review: ‘The Switch’ is Warm Unsatisfying Comedy

The movie is very enjoyable, but the ending leaves the audience unsatisfied.

Wally Mars (Jason Bateman) is your typical lovable loser. He is a hypochondriac, a paranoid neurotic, and socially awkward. His idea of a bold fashion statement is an argyle sweater-vest. He has a good Wall Street job, but it is boring to others. Worst of all, he has found himself deeply attracted to his best friend, Kassie Larson (Jennifer Aniston), but is unable to advance their relationship.

Kassie seems to be in a bit of a situation herself. Clearing forty with no husband and no pitter-patter of little feet around the house, she is worried about her declining fertility. Hitting snooze on her biological clock one more time simply isn’t an option. In desperation, she decides artificial insemination is the way to go, despite concerns from Wally.

Kassie selects a sperm donor: the handsome, athletic, talented Roland (Patrick Wilson). With a twist of cruel fate, Wally finds himself alone in a bathroom with the donor sperm. A little jealous, and a lot inebriated, Wally manages to wash Roland’s seed down the sink. But it’s not a huge deal, right? He’ll just replace the sperm with his own and nobody will be wiser.

Jennifer Aniston in The Switch

Wally’s plan seems to work perfectly. The pregnancy goes normally. Kassie moves away to raise her child. Wally forgets about the whole extravaganza. Seven years later, Kassie returns to New York with Sebastian (Thomas Robinson), a paranoid, neurotic little boy.

The Switch is a warm comedy about the barriers of trust and friendship. It’s not laugh-a-mile-per-minute hysterical, but it does have a few notable chuckles. While highly predictable, the movie remains engaging and is, at times, surprisingly moving. The acting is smooth, although the chemistry between Wally and Kassie is questionable. Is this couple really a good match for each other? Probably not. The Switch also relies a little too much on the cute factor of Sebastian. Every time a problem is resolved, the movie milks it for all it is worth by showing Sebastian making a puppy-dog face at the camera.

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The movie is very enjoyable, but the ending leaves the audience unsatisfied. The choices that many of the characters make are unrealistic and only serve to mold the outcome of the film. While The Switch easily beats out most of the other films in theaters right now, it might just be better to wait for the DVD release.

[rating:6/10]

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