Everyone's wondering if Jennifer Aniston's romantic lead resonates with her real-life experiences but it's what makes her perfect for these hopeless romantic roles. She plays Kassie Larson an unmarried 40-year old woman who's had a succession of failed relationships and cannot wait a day longer for her dream of having a child to come true so she decides to take the next step on her own and gets pregnant.
The Back Up Plan is another romantic comedy that tackles a similar story-line but it's candyfloss script where Jennifer Lopez skips away from the insemination clinic into the arms of a 'wonderful man' in the space of one day raises our scepticism.
In The Switch, her best friend Wally Mars (Jason Bateman) replaces Kassie's preferred sperm sample from a turkey baster with that of his own. He keeps this seedy secret to himself until seven years later they re-unite and he finds himself looking at Kassie's cute son who shares more of his own habits than he realises.
While The Switch does seem a bit uncharacteristic on one hand, it's a movie after all and that's how we need to look at it. What sets it apart from the rest is not only it's unusual storyline but also it's down to earth approach. Again there is an air of predictability and we almost know what to expect but the fact that it remains unsweetened makes it healthy for our romantic diet.
It's more about the neurotic guy who can't seem to express his feelings and as a result runs the risk of losing a lifetime of happiness if only he'd open himself up to the possibility. Wally finds himself in the friend zone because it's a safe place to be.
He's more of a pessimist but regards himself as a 'realist' when he hasn't even given himself the chance to step out of his comfort zone. A defeatist in his own right, Wally cannot admit his feelings for his best friend, Kassie, because his fear of rejection over-rides his need to be loved.
Fantasy is fantasy but The Switch works with something a little more pragmatic despite the switching of sperm samples which is not exactly how we imagine closing the deal on romance.
