Review: The Switch Blu-ray

STUDIO: Lionsgate | DIRECTORS: Josh Gordon, Will Speck | CAST: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Patrick Wilson
RELEASE DATE: 3/15/2011 | PRICE: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.99
BONUSES: deleted scenes, alternate ending, featurette, blooper reel
SPECS: PG-13 | 101 min. | romantic comedy | 2.35:1 aspect ratio | 5.1 DTS-HD audio | English, Spanish, French subtitles

RATINGS (out of 5 dishes): Movie | Audio | Video | Overall

With Jennifer Aniston (Love Happens) and Jason Bateman (Hancock) headlining The Switch, you’d expect to get comedy, but what you might not expect is that this touching movie has a healthy dose of drama.

The film follows the two as a former couple who have evolved into long-time friends. When single Aniston decides to have a baby from a sperm donor, Bateman objects. And when Aniston chooses another man as the donor (Patrick Wilson, Barry Munday), a drunk Bateman accidentally ruins the sample and replaces it with his own. Fast-forward six years and Bateman can’t remember what he did, but it all starts to come back when he meets Aniston’s son (the adorable Thomas Robinson) and discovers the boy’s just like him.

There aren’t any surprises in the movie, but that’s ok. Of course, Aniston and Bateman have the unrequited-love tension that embodies most romantic comedies (and you can guess how it ends). But the addition of this little boy, who inevitably changes Bateman’s character, gives the movie an added dimension and brings it into the realm of such touching films as About a Boy and Martian Child.

Aniston and Bateman are their usual acting selves: Aniston is cute and straight, while Bateman is a little dorky, neurotic and very lovable. Together they make a fine team, if not an overly original one.

The movie also stars Juliette Lewis (Due Date), as out-there as always, and Jeff Goldblum (Morning Glory), ditto. Wilson is the main surprise, as his character isn’t the got-it-together guy he often plays. Instead, he’s a pretty boy who’s lost when it comes to relationships, and despite his good looks, he acts more dorky than Bateman.

The Blu-ray has more special features than the DVD, but, the menu isn’t too big. Its exclusives are  extra deleted scenes and a funny bloopers reel. The blooper reel has some great ad-libs and mishaps, and the deleted scenes offer 10, including a rather odd alternate ending (we prefer the one in the film). Co-directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck offer introductions to each deleted scene, explaining their choice to cut it. Some are interesting, but with 10 scenes, it’s get a bit old after a while. Would have been better as an optional feature.

The only other extra is the making-of featurette “The Switch Conceived,” which is also on the DVD. It’s better than most, revealing the inspiration for the movie — a short story from New Yorker called “Baster” — and offering interviews with the co-directors, writer Allen Loeb and the stars, as well as showing behind-the-scenes footage. We also learn the character Aniston really wanted to play when she first read the script.

Overall, if this is your type of movie, The Switch is not a bad way to spend a couple of hours, and the extras are good for a laugh.

Here’s a clip from the featurette:

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