On Thursday, Nov. 30, Netflix released the holiday film “Family Switch,” showcasing a family whose children and parents have swapped bodies. While not the first film to dabble in the idea of body swaps (see Opposite Day from 2009, among others), director Joseph McGinty Nichol, professionally known as McG, and a cast of A-list actors make the film a worthwhile watch.
The film features the Walker family, comprising parents Bill (Ed Helms) and Jess (Jennifer Garner), and their two children, CC (Emma Myers) and Wyatt (Brady Noon). The Walkers are a fairly typical family and showcase a large gap between the parents and their kids — for instance, Bill and Jess don’t understand what their children are going through, while Wyatt and CC feel limited by their parents’ controlling nature.
This family dynamic is common in many holiday or family-oriented films, but “Family Switch” does a fairly good job of switching up the norm. For instance, Bill is an energetic dad, similar to Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Helms does a fantastic job of bringing out the energy in the dialogue even further, and frequently runs around and uses a physical energy to enhance the dialogue. In general, this chaotic fun differs from many other standard families in Christmas films, which tend to have a stern, disconnected father figure.
Likewise, the energy found in Helms’ performance is accompanied by stellar acting from Garner, Myers and Noon, who all seem to embrace both their roles as children and adults once the bodies are finally switched. It does bear mentioning that while having corny moments throughout — such as commonplace stereotypes of bossy parents and secret-genius children — writers Adam Sztykiel and Victoria Strouse craft a strong plot.
For instance, before the body swap finally takes place, ample backstory for all characters in their initial lives is described, so that post-swap, viewers can fully understand the difficulties faced by the family members while trapped in their new bodies. Jess has to take on CC’s upcoming soccer game which is being watched by a scout, while Bill enters the highly academic realm of Wyatt’s nerdiness — including narrowly avoiding kissing Wyatt’s crush. Similarly, Wyatt has to grapple with his Dad’s life as a once-promising rock-and-roll star (he was almost a member of “Maroon 6”), and even performs on stage as his father. Lastly, CC takes on her mother’s high-stakes job in a law firm, which doesn’t go very well at first.
When watching a holiday film it’s easy to get critical and point out glaring gaps in the plot, including the inevitable gripe: Why does the swap happen? The film explains the swap as being the result of a planetary convergence, which while sort of implausible, works as a basic magical explanation. Yet, then there is the other magical force in the story, Angelica Walker (Rita Moreno), who acts as a fortune teller and insider on the body swap, as she knows who’s in whose body.
Leaving the magical elements of the body aside, the general plot follows a fairly straightforward yet fun course. In Jess’s body, CC learns about her mother’s sacrifices to afford her daughter’s soccer camps and even winds up shaping a team that advances her mother’s role at the law firm. This success is likewise felt in Wyatt while in his father’s body, who performs on stage and unites the family as they harmonize to Christmas songs — a corny, yet infectiously happy moment. Finally, the parents rediscover their fun side and understand the struggles and stress their children bear each day. While predictable, these resolutions come slowly and rewardingly, and the film takes itself seriously enough that it’s hard not to feel for each member.
The ending brings everyone back together nicely, although not arriving there without some enjoyable twists that make the film well worth a watch. While not a perfect movie by any means, it captures the holiday spirit of togetherness well, without overdoing the stereotypical parent-teenager disconnect. If you’re looking for a fresh Christmas movie that strays away from the norm, and switches up expectations in a small yet effective way, “Family Switch” is a great option.
Rating: 3.75/5