The Switch

When I went to view The Switch I was expecting a light romantic comedy, but instead I got a heartfelt performance by Jason Bateman (Couples Retreat) and I didn’t mind the exchange at all. This film does have its moments, but it is not the kind of comedy that will have you rolling on the floor. The Switch is emotionally grounded and most of the humor comes from the characters themselves.
 
Jason Bateman plays Wally, who is Kassie’s Jennifer Aniston (The Bounty Hunter) best friend. He’s in love with her but has been relegated to “friend territory”. According to Kassie, he is neurotic and a hypochondriac, but he always has her back. He is the most reliable thing in her life and she loves him for it. But Wally is a bit of a sad sack and has yet to tell her how he really feels. He’s just happy to be a part of her life and is content to live in her shadow.
 
One evening over dinner Kassie announces that she is going to have a baby. Wally is surprised and even more so when she explains that she is not pregnant yet. She has decided to take matters into her own hands and find a donor. Wally is hurt when she asks for his help but doesn’t consider him as a father. When he tells her how he feels Kassie says that it would be too weird. He is her best friend after all. What she wants is a stranger, but someone she could meet and look in the eye. Kassie is tried of waiting for fate. She wants a baby now.
 
After a fight with Wally, Kassie goes on to find a donor on her own. Patrick Wilson (Watchman) is handsome, educated, athletic and a professor of womens studies. This sends Wally on a jealous binder, but Kassie is forgiving and invites him to her insemination party anyway. When he inadvertently finds himself in a room with Roland’s biological contribution, Wally accidentally spills it down the sink. In a drunken panic, he replaces it with his own sperm and then blacks out. It isn’t until years later that he remembers what he has done. It is only after he meets six-year-old Sebastian (Thomas Robinson) that he starts to put things together. Kassie moved after the birth of her son and has just now returned to the city. Sebastian looks just like Wally and is as much of a hypochondriac as his father. As these similarities become more apparent, it jogs his memory and Wally remembers what he has done. He confesses to his friend (Jeff Goldblum) who recalls a drunken 4:00 AM visit that same night years ago. His intoxicated mumbling now makes total sense. Wally really is Sebastions’s father.

The rest of the movie is about revealing the truth and how people will take it. But the heart of the film is the relationship between Wally and his son. Sebastian is a weird kid, but Wally understands him. They form a bond and this is what makes the lie even more dangerous. If Kassie takes Sebastian and leaves, or marries another man, Wally will lose the most precious thing in his life, his son and the mother who bore him. But if Wally tells her the truth, he may lose her anyway. His dilemma is what to do.

This is more Jason Bateman’s film than Jennifer Aniston’s. Although she is good, Bateman really shines. The scenes between him and Thomas Robinson are precious and you look forward to seeing them together. I also liked Jeff Goldblum. He was this quirky voice of reason trying to talk Wally down. His reactions are as funny as the situations themselves. He was a really nice addition to the film.

Rating: Second Run A warm-hearted comedy about one bad decision