SWITCH
A film review by Roger Snappy Rubio
Copyright 1991 Roger Snappy Rubio
SWITCH Starring: Ellen Barkin, Jimmy Smits, Jobeth Williams, Lorraine Bracco Produced by Tony Adams Written and Directed by Blake Edwards
An interesting movie. That's the least I could say about SWITCH, a new comedy from the man who brought us VICTOR/VICTORIA and 10, the one and only Blake Edwards. Blake Edwards has quite a reputation for directing the awkward and uncomfortable, and he has done a good job directing Ellen Barkin in this film. I humbly think that this movie could do wonders for Barkin, but for Edwards, I don't think it will have such a profound impact.
SWITCH is the story of womanizer Steve Brooks. Steve has been rotten to women all his life, treating them as if they were objects to be played with and enjoyed. Every female he has ever come in contact with hates his guts. So one night, three of his former girlfriends decide to throw him a surprise party, which they notify him of. The surprise, however, is a big one--it's his death.
Now that Steve is stuck in purgatory, God must decide whether or not he goes to heaven or hell (good move by Edwards making God's voice both male and female--it satisfies everyone). Since he is on equal footing on both good and bad deeds, God decides to send him back to Earth, and challenges him to find just one female that likes him. If he does, he goes to heaven. If not... well, you know. But the devil intervenes, saying he has as much a right to Steve as God does, and if he comes back as a man, it will be too easy for him. So the devil suggests a rather interesting idea ... he should come back as a woman.
So I've spoiled the first part of the story; I won't spoil the rest of it. This movie had enormous potential for even more funny scenes than the ones already in it (don't get me wrong, it has it's fair share), and it explores several issues about what it's like being a woman, but it never really follows through on most of them. I think the problem is that there is so much that can happen to a man in a woman's body that every possible situation could not fit into one movie. The ones Edwards does explore are some pretty awkward situations, and he handles them quite well.
I cannot say enough about Ellen Barkin's performance. She always had a little touch of stereotypical masculinity in her acting (which makes me think Edwards wrote this screenplay with her in mind) and it makes her perfect for this role. She talks like a man, sits like a man, and even walks like one very convincingly. She does everything I think a man would do in a woman's body without realizing it, and it provides for some very funny scenes. Barkin was superb--tremendous--excellent!
The story, however, is a bit rushed. As I said before, there's only so much that can happen in one movie. One thing happens right after the other, as though Edwards wanted to get in as much as he can. The closest movie to this one that Edwards had made previously would have to be VICTOR/VICTORIA, which dealt with male homosexuality. SWITCH deals somewhat with female homosexuality, but in a relativistic sort of way (in one way, it's not homosexuality, because the subject is a man in a woman's body, but on the other hand, he is a woman through and through!). And in my opinion the film does not deal with it enough. Perhaps Edwards should have focused only on what it's like to be a woman and not have introduced the lesbian aspect. That would have made room for some more funny situations. Also, although it might be trivial, I must mention that I found the scenes where any of the characters are drunk to be unconvincing. They acted as if they had a subtle form of hiccups. But all in all, they did pretty good.
SWITCH is definitely better than some of Edwards' previous movies (a la A FINE MESS), but not better than all of them. I believe it is a worthy candidate for induction into the Blake Edwards Hall of Fame. I think this film might wind up being compared extensively to TOOTSIE (with Dustin Hoffman) by the critics (as it is the closest relative as far as the plot line goes). As far as this comparison is concerned, SWITCH does not stand on its own. Nevertheless, it is a good movie, and worthy of at least matinee price at the box office.
THE SNAPMAN
rsnappy@hydra.unm.edu
(Roger Rubio)
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