The Switch Blu-ray Review

The Switch - HT Guys Review - Overall 4.1 Stars (out of 5)

Synopsis

Still single and increasingly attuned to the cacophony of her biological clock, 40-something Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) decides that if she can't find a mate she'll still pursue motherhood with the help of a sperm sample that's not quite as anonymous as she thinks. As the baby grows up, Kassie's best friend, Wally (Jason Bateman), agonizes over whether to reveal that he secretly replaced the donor sample with his own DNA. (Buy Now $17.99)

Starring:

Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Thomas Robinson, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, and Juliette Lewis

Director:

Josh Gordon

Blu-ray Release Date:

March 15, 2011

Subtitles:

English, French, Spanish

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio 3.9 Stars (out of 5)

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison

• Subwoofer – 3.5 Stars
• Dialog – 4.5 Stars
• Surround Effects – 4.0 Stars
• Dynamic Range – 3.5 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

There is not much excitement to be had on the audio side of this Blu-ray, but that should be expected from a romantic comedy. Some scenes in restaurants and parties feature ambient surrounding crowd noise and the soundtrack occasionally filled the room during the montage scenes. Dialog is handled fine and is never lost in the sound mix.  

Video  4.7 Stars (out of 5)

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison

• Color Accuracy  - 4.5 Stars
• Shadow detail – 5.0 Stars
• Clarity – 5.0 Stars
• Skin tones – 4.5 Stars
• Compression – 4.5 Stars

Video codec: VC-1, Video resolution: 1080p, Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1, Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

The Switch looks great. Often times extra features have so much more clarity than the actual movie. This is not the case on this Blu-ray. I found myself mesmerized by the sharp pinstripes, zippers, and woven fabics of sweaters while watching. For most of the film the color seemed a little on the cold side, which was a little strange for a romantic comedy. The flesh tones seemed a little muddy, but the dark scenes were handled great without any artifacts.

Bonus Features 3.5 Stars (out of 5)

• Deleted scenes
• "The Switch Conceived" - behind-the-scenes featurette
• Alternate ending with introduction by the directors
• Additional deleted scenes with introduction by the directors
• Bloopers

Movie – 3.0 Stars (out of 5)

Review:

The premise of The Switch sounds ridiculous and offensive, however they are able to pull off this storyline in a serviceable manner. If you have seen the trailer for this movie, you know what will happen. This movie is easy to predict and never deviates from the standard romance comedy framework. Most of the characters aren’t as funny as you would like, and some of them are just plan unlikeable.

However, there is one savior for this movie, young actor Thomas Robinson. The chemistry he has with Bateman’s character is very heartwarming. It’s even better than the supposed romance part of this romance comedy. If they turned this movie into a “bro-mance”, it might have been better.