mix tape: Movies 110: The Switch

To tell you the truth, I'm not a fan of Jennifer Aniston. Not once have I ever seen her make the other actor look good in a romantic comedy. So with that thought, I was thinking I dunno. The premise was so predictable. Shrug. Sigh. I get to the matinee and its a packed house. Did they know something I didn't know? Yes, its by the people of Juno which means, the people who produced Juno, not written nor directed by the people of Juno. While we hated Jason Bateman's character in Juno for running out like he did. Well, guess what? Jason Bateman is the one who makes Jennifer Aniston look good. His character is so genuine in this movie.

Jason Bateman's Wally Mars is negative and neurotic, yet adorable and real. He's best friends with Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) in downtown New York. Kassie's biological time clock is almost in overdrive and to make it fun she has a party to get pregnant. Well, not that fun. But Juliette Lewis definitely makes it fun. She seems to get some of the best lines in this film. Or maybe its just how she works a scene. Of course, Wally feels this whole artificial insemination is a bad idea. Thus he gets drunk and well, you've seen the trailer. But don't go thinking you've seen the best part of this movie.

This movie has layers and depth. Especially, seven years later when Wally meets Sebastian (Thomas Robinson), Kassie's son. Of course, not only does Wally see himself in Sebastian, but so does the sperm donor Roland (Patrick Wilson). Its interesting how life works that way.

Of course, Wally starts remembering little by little about that night at the party so long ago when he got drunk, and thanks to his boss Leonard ( Jeff Goldblum), he sorts it out, just to be caught up in another dilemma. But he and Sebastian are two peas in a pod, so to speak, he really gets to know Sebastian. There are some really poignant moments in the story that we can all relate to. I think what makes the film work is that Wally learns a lot from Sebastian too. It really is a unique film because of this. I really enjoyed this film. Its quite a little gem. It made me think of a lot of the important things in life.