SWITCH. Directed and written by Blake Edwards; produced by Tony Adams for Warner Bros. Starring Ellen Barkin and Jimmy Smits. Rated R.
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Soph-o-mor-ic: 1. of, or characteristic of a sophomore; 2. conceited and overconfident af knowledge but poorly informed and immature.
If almost every bit of humor in Switch didn't fit this definition perfectly, it would be a much more entertaining movie. But, then, sophomoric humor is one of writer/director Edwards' trademarks, and this isn't the first time that an avalanche of silliness has overwhelmed whatever good points his movie might have.
And Switch does have its good points. Barkin is a very talented lady and she handles her complicated role here with both energy and finesse. She plays Amanda, who is the female reincarnation of Steve (Perry King), an unrepentant womanizer and emotional six-year-old who is murdered by an ex-lover.
After a small scene in purgatory, Steve is returned to earth, charged with finding one woman who likes him. If he does, he can go to heaven. If not, a delightfully smarmy devil (Bruce Martyn Payne) gets his soul instead.
The catch, and the best thing about the movie, is that Amanda has a woman's body, alright, but Steve's mind, memory, personality, libido, etc. "She" continues to talk, walk, and behave just like him.
The walking, though, is a good example of an Edwards joke that doesn't know when to quit. Barkin manages to get more mileage than you would think possible out of the difficulties of walking in high heels and a tight skirt. But eventually, you just want to scream "Get some comfortable shoes, for goodness sake!"
Tiresomely, everyone in the movie is obsessed with sex, even good-guy Walt (Smits), whose character actually has an even more serious problem, too.
He's supposed to have been Steve's best friend, but it's just not believable that someone as nice as Walt would have been able to put up with Steve. Perhaps for that reason, Smits, who's been impressive on the big screen before (True Believers, for example) seems a bit at sea here.
It's really too bad, but an excellent performance by Barkin and good work by most of her supporting cast just can't redeem the sophomoric fixations of the script.
May 29, 1991