‘The Switch’: Puzzled relationships (IANS Movie Review - Rating: ***)

Director: Josh Gordon, Will Speck; Actors: Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Thomas Robinson, Jeff Goldblum, Juliette Lewis, Patrick Wilson

Often we go through relationships in life, comfortable in the existence of a best friend who supports us. What we don’t consider is that the best friend could become the spouse.

Wally (Bateman) and Kassie (Aniston) have that relationship. Though Wally likes her and keeps telling her that in different ways, Kassie strictly keeps him in the best friend zone. Problem occurs when Kassie decides to get artificially inseminated and looks around for a sperm donor. Wally asks what’s wrong with him but Kassie wants to have the best possible sperm for herself.

She finds Roland (Wilson) and throws a party on the day. In a drunken stupor, however, Wally replaces Roland’s sperm with his own, not even remembering the incident. After becoming pregnant, Kassie moves away from New York and returns seven years later with her son Sebastian (Robinson).

When Wally interacts with Sebastian, he suspects the worst. When his fear that he is the father turns true, he wants to tell Kassie but can’t. To complicate things further Kassie begins a relationship with Roland.

“The Switch” is a commentary on many aspects of modern life. In our zest for the best, we forget the most compatible one that is next to us. The solution is merely to make a switch in one’s mind and consider a different possibility.

Jason Bateman plays the distraught Wally well. Jennifer Aniston is plastic, and cannot emote, perhaps due to the botox on her face. The boon of starring in “Friends” has become her “bane” and she has been unable to shake off that stereotyping.

It is however Thomas Robinson who plays his part as an over intelligent, hypochondriac kid with believability, cuteness and a quite a few laughter. Here’s a kid to watch out for.

Observant Indian audiences will notice a first of its kind censor cut, where the reason this time is male nudity and not female.

The mainstay of the film is a steady pace throughout, believable characters, settings and dialogues, even though the concept might seem a little far-fetched. Though branded a comedy, it is a little slice of urban American life. Considering the rapidity with which urban Indian life is turning American, Indian audiences are bound to enjoy this.