Big Screen Peter: The Switch

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis has agreed to use whatever it is you call his writing style to provide some measure of analysis to those folks who still go to a theater to see a movie. Enjoy. Next week Peter will review "Centurion," a historical action movie starring Dominic West that is set during the Roman conquest of Britian.

review by Peter Lewis

"I mean, you can say that love is obsolete and retro, okay, but everybody comes home at night wanting somebody there, even villains come in the door and say hopefully, ‘Honey, I’m home?’ and either somebody is there to kiss you, or somebody isn’t. And if somebody isn’t, if there are no kisses, you’ve got to deal with it."

The above quote is from a beautiful novel by Charles Baxter titled, “The Feast of Love.” It is an intricate and poignant portrayal of relationships and human nature. The sentiment behind the quote is one we all feel. We all seek that connection with another human being. It’s a cornerstone of artistic expression, from John Prine’s “Hello in There” to W. Somerset Maugham’s classic tome, “Of Human Bondage.” And while the comparisons may place it in heady company, “The Switch,” starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, is no different in its aspirations.

The film opens with a montage of New York: the nameless multitudes busy with their own life, dodging one another as Jason Bateman narrates the hopelessness of certain individuals. He speaks of those unlucky few, those sad sack depressives who don’t seem to have the fortune of others — those happy ones, those proud and lucky few who seem to fall right into a romantic happiness.

From there, the film highlights these differences with an ample amount of levity. This pendulum between profundities and playfulness becomes an ever present element of the film. However, it doesn’t castrate the intellectual crux of the film, instead it makes the relatively outlandish situation more real, creating a dash of cultural viability — a rarity in Hollywood these days.

However, in many ways “The Switch” falls into these same categories of purported reality: normalcy is a pampered life, glimpsed only by a tiny sub-set of the population. Life, especially as a single mother, is easy. Problems revolve around failed play dates and hyper intelligence, not crappy day care or double-shifts. These small issues are easily dismissed, as the entire premise of the film — a neurotic man, out of touch with himself and reality, drunkenly swaps the sperm specimen of his best friend’s donor and replaces it with his own — is a postmodern creation that speciously rests in reality.

Bateman plays Wally, the aforementioned neurotic. He’s successful in most all things but love. He’s bound by his hyperactive self-awareness, never quite diving into the pool, just always dipping in a toe before completely deciding against a swim. Aniston, on the other hand, is in many ways Wally’s polar opposite. She’s vivaciously measured, open to new ideas and experiences — the optimist to Wally’s cynic.

These differences of personality creates an interesting symbiosis. And it works. Bateman is a functionally subtle actor, best suited for roles like Wally that allow his normal guy nature to manifest itself, while Aniston still personifies that sparky girl next door charm. They create an affecting pair.

The buoyancy of the film, however, rests in the small arms of Thomas Robinson. While the film is indeed a romance, Robinson is the emotional center of the film as Sebastian. He breathes life into an otherwise predictable rom-com tale of repressed feelings. His predilections don’t quite bring the film closer to reality in a strict sense, but he certainly offers a fair reminder of the unexpected joys to be found in childrearing.

As a film, “The Switch” is far from grand, but it offers viewers a chance to reflect on their own life and a chance to laugh. Any film that can offer that much is worth the price of admission.

• The Switch is playing at the Malco Cinema 12 in Fort Smith. Link here for time and ticket info.

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