The Switch
 

Jason Bateman (Wally) and Jennifer Anniston (Kassie) star in this one-joke premise of a movie. Wally and Kassie started out dating, but it turned into a good friendship. With Kassie's biological running out of time, she decides it was time to bring forth life from her loins, so she goes the artificial insemination route, and finds a suitable donor (Rolan) who is married. Kassie's friend Debbie throws an Insemination Party for Kassie, and against his better judgment, Wally attends and he gets really drunk, and in a series of unconvincing scenes, Roland's seed inadvertently goes down the drain, and Wally, in a drunken stupor, is still able to replace Roland's stuff with his own stuff (though he blacks out and remembers none of it), and soon after Kassie becomes pregnant. Fast forward 7 years, and Wally is faced with the repurcussions of his drunken actions, and the films just limps to its predictable finish.

Besides a total lack of on-screen chemistry between Bateman (struggled mightily, but unsuccessfully, to carry the film) and Anniston (she really phones it in, too), the film is mostly a chore to sit through, and it's just boring. Though the focus of the film shifts from Kassie's scant journey to single motherhood to Wally's reaction to having fathered a son, and includes the impression of Wally's string of bad dates littering most of his adult dating life with a track record befitting of eternal bachelorhood, you never find yourself rooting for or against Wally's situation. It's just an unremarkable feat of characterizations across the board that limits much audience investment in his predicament.

I give it 2 stars or a grade of C.

Re: The Switch
 

I don't think it's possible to be more off-base about Bateman's performance not carrying the film or his chemistry with Aniston, which was rather vibrant but paled in comparison to his chemistry with Robinson.

It was a light and predictable movie with more than a few surprisingly dramatic & genuinely sweet scenes, anchored by a knockout performance by Bateman. I would hate to see leading roles become even more out of reach for him when this movie (unfairly) bombs.

Re: The Switch
 

I was weirded out by Anniston's darting pupils whenever she was supposed to be starting into Batemen's eyes, while Batemen's pupils were very calm when supposedly looking into Anniston's eyes.

And yes, I note the irony of "the switch" in that

Re: The Switch
 

Michael Caine often told actors asking him for advice to 'pick an eye', he was known for that small bit of advice. He was trying to teach them the difference in what you describe above, which is important for close ups.

Re: The Switch
 

I liked it - harmless and predictable but sweet with some funny moments. Bateman and the kid were great and I loved seeing Jeff Goldblum get a decent role in a movie again. He stole a lot of scenes. It's not a must see by any stretch but it ain't half bad. If you like movies that are 'cute', this one is for you.