Seven years after the fact, a man comes to the realization that he was the sperm donor for his best friend's boy.Seven years after the fact, a man comes to the realization that he was the sperm donor for his best friend's boy.Seven years after the fact, a man comes to the realization that he was the sperm donor for his best friend's boy.
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- 1 win & 3 nominations total
- Party Guest 2
- (as Jeremy J. Mohler)
- Girl at Pizzeria
- (as Lily Pilbald)
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As far as the acting, this is definitely Aniston's best movie this year and I liked her attitude in this even though she portrays almost the same character but it's such an improvement from The Bounty Hunter. Jason Bateman was very good, hilarious at points as usual and actually approached a more serious tone for this role. The rest was good and I really was not bothered by anything at all. The characters were lovely and I was surprised for them to not look over-acted and exaggerated.
The cinematography, editing were pretty much normal, nothing to be mentioned and the score was as usual, typical for a romantic movie. With all these I want to say that this movie is not BAD and I don't understand people who love to bash this movie just for it's clichés and stuff like that. This movie is a simple good time for a boring afternoon. It's far from being great but it's such a better choice than most of the wack stuff that studios put out.
Jennifer Aniston is just a cute girl that the audience can accept as a character, but Jason Bateman is everything you want in a leading man. Very good looking but not in a typical way, plays up neurotic with aplomb, and is hilarious all the way through. We easily fall in love with him from beginning to end.
"The Switch" actually gives us a story, one where our hero has to evolve and mature as he realizes and understands the value that Aniston and her son bring to his life. Again, Jason Bateman is the kind of man that we have been waiting for in romantic comedies, because he actually has the talent to portray all of that, and do it with comedy. A romantic comedy that is cute, funny, romantic, mature and where you actually welcome the story line - what more could you ask for?
The first ten minutes appear to be a bombardment of words, with constant conversation at full speed. Then the story moves slowly, and the first sign of any romance happens well after 70 minutes into the film. There is little portrayal of Kassie's dilemma between two guys and her entangled emotions, which makes the film a lot less engaging. Even though the film follows the typical romantic comedy formula, the formula is so rushed that everything occurs in the last 20 minutes of the film.
The script does not work at all. It is poorly paced, unfunny and just drags on. It creates nothing to make the viewers look forward to. It does not instill any loving feelings into the atmosphere. It does not even feel sweet or romantic. There is no comedy at all, it does not make me even smile once. I normally enjoy romantic comedies, but I find "The Switch" unbelievably boring.
Bateman is at his under-acting, low key, gentle best responding to Aniston's usually cute bemusement because, as you might have guessed, he loves her but has not the daring to tell her. Then, at the donor party, he gets excited in the bathroom at a picture of Diane Sawyer and switches his sperm for the donor's.
You've seen similar romantic comedy setups where the principals know each other too well or dislike each other so much that they will be enlightened and bond by the end of the film. You know how it all will turn out, so after that smart opening, the film devolves into clichéd expectation fulfillment.
However, scenes between Wally and six-year old Sebastian (Thomas Robinson), his son by the switch but a secret to mother and son for much of the film, are well-acted given the appropriate level of dialogue, their mutual respect, and the film's unwillingness to exploit Robinson's cuteness to elicit favorable reviews. But after all, like his dad, Sebastian's a pessimist with eccentric and sometimes macabre tastes, not always exploitable characteristics. In any case, these two actors are as good as one could expect to show a loving relationship between two eccentrics who don't know for some time they are related.
Saving the film from my impending "C" grade are Jeff Goldblum as Leonard, Wally's best male friend; the cute Thomas Robinson as Sebastian, Kassie's son; and manic Juliette Lewis as Debbie, Kassie's best girl friend. With weak competition like Bow Wow in Lottery Ticket, Aniston manages to be in a film just a bit above my average. Too bad because that opening is worth seeing just for itself.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDiane Sawyer was apparently perfectly happy for her image to be used in Jason Bateman's masturbation scene.
- GoofsAt the beginning of the final barbecue scene, Wally is seen using a gas grill, as evident by the burner knobs. After walking in the house, he speaks of charcoal and lighter fluid, which are completely unnecessary when using a gas grill.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Wally Mars: Look at us. Running around, always rushed, always late. I guess that's why they call it the human race. What we crave most in this world is connection. For some people it happens at first site. It's when you know, you know. It's fate working its magic. And that's great for them. They get to live in a pop song; ride the express train. But that's not the way it really works. For the rest of us it's a bit less romantic. It's complicated and it's messy. It's about horrible timing and fumbled opportunities. And not being able to say what you need to say when you need to say it. At least, that's the way it was for me.
- SoundtracksInstant Replay
Written by Dan Hartman
Performed by Dan Hartman
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- The Baster
- Filming locations
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $19,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $27,779,426
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,436,713
- Aug 22, 2010
- Gross worldwide
- $49,843,011
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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