The Switch

Don't you wish better for Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. Bateman was part of one of the funniest shows of the new millennium, (the OO’s what do you call the last decade) and because it got so mishandled by FOX it never got the notoriety it deserved while on the air. It has since taken on a cult like following with die-hard fans. The former Friends star has been followed around non-stop about her private life and never seems to catch a break with it. Both have been given many chances to helm a movie, but neither has been able to make it something special. Unfortunately this is nothing different.

Much like years of the past with competing studios coming out with movies with similar themes ala Antz and A Bug's Life, Dante's Peak and Volcano, and Armageddon and Deep Impact this year is all about artificial insemination. Hopefully the Jennifer Lopez version will soon be forgotten while no one will take notice of The Kids Are Alright until awards season (maybe).

This movie features Aniston as a woman who is tired of waiting for the right man, a stretch. She has decided to find a donor and get on with that part of the life. Bateman, the worrisome best friend, was put in the friend zone a long time ago and is apprehensive about the whole thing. She finds the guy with the right stuff and they have a party to celebrate, drinks are had, drugs are taken and just like any good party sperm samples are swapped.

The whole movie drags especially the first act. It takes so long to set the stage and gather that they are best friends and she wants a child. Meanwhile I did it in a sentence.

When we finally meet the kid played by Thomas Robinson the movie picks up. While there is almost zero chemistry between Aniston and Bateman, there is plenty between the Jason and little Tommy. Aniston has been in so many failed romantic comedies you would figure she could learn a thing or two but instead she still has yet to make a genuine connection. The movie fails to distinguish itself from other movies in the genre and just reuses old tools. Bateman rarely gets to unleash his dry wit onto the film, there are moments in the beginning where we see glimpses of it but once the kid enters the scene so does his style.

Jeff Goldblum is a bright spot in the movie, as Bateman's best man he is able to use some of the dry wit that Bateman never gets to unleash. His dry pandering creates some of the only laughable scenes in the movie. Meanwhile Aniston's BFF played by Juliette Lewis is all kinds of annoying, her shriek is almost as annoying as Bateman's narration, almost.

As long as Jen stays in the tabloids she is going to keep getting offers despite the garbage that she keeps attaching herself to. While Aniston may have her name first on the billing, this is a Bateman propelled movie and frankly he has never been able to handle the lead on the big screen. He does great in the ensemble as the straight man and is a solid contributor and second lead but that is it. Both of these actors need to start being much more selective about their roles. D