Deciding the time is right to have a baby, single New Yorker Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) opts to use a sperm donor. The news comes as a shock to neurotic best friend Wally (Jason Bateman), however, who has always carried a torch for his long-time pal. Attempting to turn desperation into celebration, Kassie throws an 'insemination party', during which a drunken Wally spills sperm donor Roland's (Patrick Wilson) sample down the sink, and, panicked, refills the cup with his own specimen.
The next morning, Wally has no memory of what happened, and is devastated when Kassie later announces she is pregnant and leaving to live near her family in Minnesota.
Over the next seven years the friends drift apart, until a delighted Wally discovers that Kassie is returning to New York. As they reconnect, the pair remain oblivious to the fact they are both little Sebastian's (Thomas Robinson) parents, until some shared idiosyncrasies start to jog Wally's memory.
Aniston and Bateman fight against a slightly icky idea to form an appealing partnership in this enjoyable romcom. Based on a short story by Virgin Suicides author Jeffrey Eugenides, directing duo Gordon and Speck (Blades of Glory) do well to handle the uncomfortable premise without resorting to crudity. Though bogged down by nagging contrivances, such as the preposterous insemination party or the unlikeliness of Wally's act, the stars, along with scene-stealing supports Goldblum and Lewis, keep things pleasantly watchable.
The Switch is a Film programme that first aired in 2010 and has been classified a 12 certificate.
