Family Switch Review: Jennifer Garner and Ed Helms Body-Swap Comedy Movie Receives Mixed Response From Critics
Family Switch is loosely based on the picture book Bedtime for Mommy by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. It carries a surprisingly raunchy streak given its source material
Released on November 30, 2023, on Netflix, Family Switch boasts an ensemble cast featuring Emma Myers, Jennifer Garner, Brady Noon, Ed Helms, and Rita Moreno. The film explores a unique premise where family members swap bodies amid a rare celestial alignment. As they embark on a comical quest to revert to their original selves, their journey unexpectedly strengthens familial bonds, uniting them in ways they never imagined possible. Griselda Trailer: Sofia Vergara Turns a Murderous Drug Queenpin in Netflix's Series (Watch Video).
Check Out Critics Review For Family Switch Here:
The Guardian: Directed by McG and starring Jennifer Garner (who also produced, and is as plucky and puckered as ever), the yuletide drama takes a more-the-merrier approach to the trading-places trope, offering a smorgasbord of stock characters for couch-bound viewers to relate to: the Walker family has something for everyone – Sporty, Techy, Wistful and Work-Obsessed.
Hollywood Reporter: Family Switch is less heartwarming than it seems like it should be. It’s simply hard to feel all that deeply for characters so flat and sweet they might as well be gingerbread people, resolving problems that barely seemed to exist in the first place. But it also makes the film completely and utterly safe as background filler. There’s nothing here that risks bringing up difficult or painful conversations, or steering toward an unhappy ending, or pressuring viewers to pick sides while you’re just trying to curl that last bit of ribbon or untangle that last string of lights
Times Now: Netflix's Family Switch is a decent enough comedy to start off the 2023 holiday season, but it doesn't have the main spark to make it memorable. Despite the frantic energy of the movie, the beats of the feature are quite common and predictable. It's like the film goes through the five stages of grief with denial, anger and acceptance coming to the forefront. But while the film doesn't make any massive changes to its template, it sticks to the family genres that it's trying to please. While the plot is obvious, the main cast of Family Switch makes the viewing a lot more pleasant.
The New York Times: Famil. But seeing that it’s directed by McG (Charlie’s Angels, The Babysitter), the gross-out humor shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The real nail in the coffin is the film’s messaging about the power of family, which is about as tacked-on and stilted as they come — hardly a shock in light of the rest of the Netflix holiday movie lineup. Jennifer Garner Acknowledges Reese Witherspoon’s Support During Difficult Public Moment: ‘She Was Right There for Me’
Deadline: Inspired by the book Bedtime For Mommy by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, who also is responsible for the source material on Garner’s last Netflix family outing Yes Day, this film adaptation is actually quite different, as the fully family body switch idea is added here to what was originally a sweet book about the kid telling the parent bedtime stories. This is just pure family fun, nothing more. But thankfully, nothing less.
Watch Family Switch Trailer Here:
Family Switch released on November 30, 2023 and is currently streaming on Netlfix.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 30, 2023 09:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).