The Switch 2010

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: This one is played in broad, sitcommy fashion, utterly divorced from the way people behave in real life. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: Sorry tabloid readers. At no time does Jennifer 'Womb Watch' Aniston growl, "Take that, Brad." Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: The best Jennifer Aniston movie in ages is actually a star vehicle for Jason Bateman. And Aniston's work opposite the screen's premiere mild-mannered funnyman shows her at her most engaged and pitch perfect. Read more

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: Thanks to Bateman's truly winning performance as a bit of a loser, "The Switch" manages to earn our laughter and our respect in equal measure. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: The first third of The Switch, directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, is so bizarre that it leads you to wonder if, through some miraculous lack of oversight, the movie will blaze an unpredictable path. No such luck. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Marvel at the desperate spectacle of three comic leads ... being outperformed by the wide-eyed Robinson, a quiet collector of silences. Read more

Ted Fry, Seattle Times: Unfortunately, this latest ho-hum rom-com from Hollywood's industrial commissary comes out half-baked despite noble efforts by two undeniably likable stars who try to rescue it from mediocrity. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Turns out it's hard to make one man swapping his sperm for another's seem cute, as much as The Switch tries. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Allan Loeb wrote the script. Josh Gordon and Will Speck directed. What they've done is concoct something gimmicky and banal. Read more

Joshua Katzman, Chicago Reader: This New York-based comedy directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck distinguishes itself with three-dimensional characters and an engaging storyline. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: I wish it were great, but "pretty good" puts it ahead of plenty of recent romantic comedies. Puh-LEN-ty. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Aside from the fact that it's all too entirely predictable, The Switch is a pleasant enough end-of-the-summer time killer. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: The comedy itself suffers from awkward scheduling. Though this isn't its only wrinkle. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: It's not a bad film, really, just sort of average. But Bateman is so good in it -- natural, funny, yet full of real emotion -- that you immediately want to see him again in a better film. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The Switch squeezes fresh laughs out of what is, in essence, a rather startlingly post-Freudian, nature-trumps-nurture view of child development. Read more

Eric D. Snider, Film.com: At its heart, it's really not that different from a regular romantic comedy. Well, except that it's funny. Read more

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: Once you get past a shaky premise, the comedy does blossom in this Jennifer Aniston-Jason Bateman rom-com. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: More his journey than hers, more satire than slapstick, the film is that rare example of rom-com about men, which turns out to be a nice switch indeed. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: You have to overlook a whole lot of guff in order to enjoy the slight but pleasurable entertainment of The Switch. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The truly dusty cliche it drags out again is the cute couple who don't, you know, think-of-each-other-like-that. Until, of course, they do. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: It's Judd Apatow lite, Farrelly brothers special blend. Just call it When Harry Met Sally and Her Ovum. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Tries to be more than a sitcom but keeps falling back on cheap laughs. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: The Jason Bateman film his fans have been waiting for. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: All that's good about The Switch is undermined by the need to conform to romantic comedy standards and by the predictable performance of a miscast Jennifer Aniston. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: Likable cast wasted in a dopey comedy. But hey, at least it has the first head-lice-removal instructional montage in romcom history. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The film offers few - make that no - surprises. What almost saves it is the acting. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Taken on its own terms, it's a light, sweet, curiously enjoyable misfit romance, whose real star is not Aniston but her magnificently awkward Lothario, Jason Bateman. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Aniston and Bateman each bring a rare Bordeaux, and the writers bring Spam on white bread. You can skip the picnic or show up and have a glass of wine. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: The sadness comes from the audience's sense that inside this slick, conventional romantic comedy there's a tender, scruffy little movie struggling to get out. Read more

Tom Horgen, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Aniston and Bateman find a funny chemistry together, and the film's bemusing setup unfolds with wit and charm. As 6-year-old Sebastian, Thomas Robinson steals every scene he's in. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: There aren't enough surprises to justify the title, but The Switch produces sufficient light for a late-summer diversion. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Another in a recent line of romcoms eager to get us laughing all the way to the sperm bank, and then to the infant dividends beyond. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: There's much to enjoy, if not quite enough to disguise the film's essential awkwardness in trying to cover too many bases. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Didn't Jennifer Lopez play essentially the same role this year in The Back-Up Plan? Only in the movies are glamorous, 40ish single women leaping into single parenthood via sperm donation. Read more

Andrew Barker, Variety: An unfunny, manipulative romance about two unlikable people and their prop of a son, the pic mangles the premise of its source material. Read more

Karina Longworth, Village Voice: Saddled with the responsibility of carrying the film, Bateman acquits himself admirably. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: A warm, quirkily observant film, strengthened by some appealing performances and a low-key, easygoing vibe. Read more