Jennifer Aniston stars in 'The Switch': movie review

Jennifer Aniston plays singleton Kassie, in the new movie 'The Switch,' a pleasant, but predictable end-of-the-summer film.

Jennifer Aniston, right, and Jason Bateman are shown in a scene from the new movie 'The Switch.'

Macall Polay/Miramax Films-Disney/AP

August 20, 2010

Aside from the fact that it’s all too entirely predictable, “The Switch” is a pleasant enough end-of-the-summer time killer.

Jennifer Aniston plays singleton Kassie, who wants a baby and, with the clock ticking and no Mr. Right in sight, is on the prowl for a suitable sperm donor.

Jason Bateman plays her best friend, Wally, a financial analyst and head case who is also, of course, secretly in love with her. Through a mix-up so wildly implausible that it almost makes sense, Wally, unbeknownst to Kassie, ends up as “the seed man.”

Adapted by screenwriter Alan Loeb from the short story “The Baster” by Jeffrey Eugenides and directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, “The Switch” is best remembered for Bateman’s wry geniality and a marvelous cameo from Jeff Goldblum as Wally’s business partner. Goldblum’s patter-style delivery turns conventional dialogue into jazz riffs.

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