Matthews-Mint Hill - Carolina Weekly Newspapers

Something oddly familiar about ‘The Switch’by Ryan Hillmovies@matthewsminthillweekly.comIn “The Switch,” Jennifer Anistonwants to have a baby. Badly. But, sinceshe’s a single woman in New York Cityand can’t find the right man, she decidesto use a sperm-donor. Let me repeatthat for those in the peanut gallery. JenniferAniston can’t find a man. In NewYork City.The monkey wrench in Aniston’s babyplan is her best friend Wally (Jason Bateman,trying his best to not seem like he’sbiding his time until that long-gestating“Arrested Development” movie startsproduction), who, at a celebration forAniston’s conception, switches out thepayload of the suave, attractive guy (PatrickWilson) with his own less attractiveand more neurotic seed. Nobody is thewiser until seven years later, when Wallyfigures out Aniston’s son looks and actsSouthPark continuesAugust Movies UnderThe Stars seriesSouthPark invites families and friendsto gather on the lawn at Symphony Park,4400 Sharon Road, Charlotte, to enjoyits Movies Under the Stars series everyFriday through Aug. 27. The series includesa free night of family-themed moviesshown under the stars on a 30-footscreen. To jump-start the night, pre-eventactivities, including a live band, will start at7 p.m. Concessions and cold drinks will beavailable for purchase all night.Attendees are invited to bring lawnchairs, blankets and shoes for charity aswell. Throughout August, Samaritan’s Feetwill collect donations of new, children’ssize athletic shoes at all Movies UnderThe Stars events. Samaritan’s Feet is alocal nonprofit dedicated to changinglives through Shoes of Hope distributionsaround the world.Movies Under The Stars is presented byCarolinas Medical Center and sponsored byVera Bradley. The schedule is as follows:Friday, Aug. 20: Jay Mathey musicfollowed by PG-rated “Alvin & TheChipmunks”Friday, Aug. 27: Hipshack musicfollowed by PG-rated “Harry Potter &The Half Blood Prince”Visit www.simon.com or call 704-364-4411 for more information.a whole lot like he does, and in fact ishis son, thus setting the whole contrivedplot in motion.“The Switch” is an appropriate namefor this movie, seeing as the studio releasingit, Miramax, switched the film’s titlefrom “The Baster,” and the filmmakers,directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck(who also co-directed Will Ferrell’sfigure skating epic “Blades of Glory”)and screenwriter Allan Loeb (“21,” theupcoming “Wall Street: Money NeverSleeps”) switch out bits and pieces fromother romantic comedies like they wereinterchangeable parts.See if this sounds familiar. There’sthe hapless 30-something “Jerry Maguire”type who can’t make a connectionwith anyone until he connects witha small boy (Bateman), the sassy anddisapproving best friend of the heroinefound in just about every rom-com evermade from “She’s Out of My League”to “Knocked Up” (Juliette Lewis), theshallow, great-looking athletic man(Wilson) who serves as nothing but aromantic foil to the lead, and the oversexedfriend/mentor to the hero whodishes out advice to the movie’s hero,a la Jeff Goldblum in “Nine Months,”which makes it all the more ironicthat Jeff Goldblum plays the oversexedfriend/mentor to Bateman’s Wally, akaJason Bateman and Jennifer Anistonour hero.The similarities don’t end there.There’s also the “Notting Hill” esquepassage of time with the passing of theseasons montage, tracking shots of peoplechatting each other up as they walkdown a New York street (“When HarryMet Sally”), and last, but not least, twomain characters that spend years asfriends and nothing else, again just likein “Sally.”The most amazing thing? “The Switch”actually comes off as an above-averageromantic comedy for two reasons. Thefirst is because of the sorry state of theromantic comedy genre.What does it say about the categoryof romantic comedy when a film thatso blatantly steals from every successfulrom-com since “When Harry MetSally” constitutes a solid romantic comedy?When the competition is “When inRome,” “Sex and the City 2,” Aniston’sown “The Bounty Hunter,” or “Killers,”Grade: HH1/2 out of 4MPAA Rating: pg-13 for sexual material,some nudity, drug use and language.Cast: Jennifer aniston, Jason bateman, Jeffgoldblum, Juliette lewisGenre: comedyStudio: Miramax filmsopeningthis week“nAnny McPheeReTURnS” (PG)“PIRAnhA 3d” (R)“vAMPIReS SUck” (PG-13)“WIld GRASS” (PG)box officeweekend1. “The exPendAbleS” (R)$34.8M $34.8M2. “eAT PRAy love” (PG-13)$23.1M $23.1M3. “The oTheR GUyS” (PG-13)$17.4M $70M4. “IncePTIon” (PG-13)$11.3M$248.5M5. “ScoTT PIlGRIM vS. The WoRld” (PG-13)$10.6M $10.6M6. “deSPIcAble Me” (PG)$7M $222.2M7. “STeP UP 3d” (PG-13)$6.9M$29.8M8. “dInneR foR SchMUckS” (PG-13)$6.2M$58.8M9. “SAlT” (PG-13)$6.2Mtotal$103.4M10. “cATS & doGS: The RevenGeof kITTy GAloRe” (PG)$4.2M $35.2Mnot a whole lot.However, the biggest reason “TheSwitch” is better than those aforementionedrom-coms is the interplaybetween Bateman and his son, playedby newcomer Thomas Robinson. Thesescenes are like a breath of fresh air;breezy, fun and free of the contrivancesthat holds the rest of the film back.Even Aniston, whose recent films wouldembarrass the $5 bin at Wal-Mart,shows signs of life when acting alongsidethe young boy. Everything with theyoung Robinson feels like it belongs ina better, more original movie.Despite its lack of originality, “TheSwitch” can lay claim to being one ofthe best romantic comedies of 2010,though when you look at the competition,it may be more of a dubious honorthan a prestigious one. The film deliverssome laughs here and there, but it sostrictly adheres to the rom-com playbookthat the entire production canonly move beyond its contrived plot inspurts, instead of long stretches. qwww.matthewsminthillweekly.comMatthews-Mint Hill Weekly • Aug. 20-26, 2010 • Page 29