When we’ve reviewed Jennifer Aniston movies in the past, it’s been mentioned more than a few times that the actress is struggling to escape the shadow of ‘that’ TV series. However, now there is a separate issue dogging her career- that of flagging box office sales. The five movies she has made since the very successful ‘Marley & Me’ have shown a decline in interest, so can our favourite friend win us back (with the help of Jason Bateman) in ‘The Switch’?

Forty-somethings Kassie (Aniston) is determined to have a baby, and decides the only way to go about it is via artificial insemination. Her close friend Wally (Jason Bateman) objects to the idea, secretly because he has always had feelings for Kassie but never expressed them, ending up in the ‘friend zone.’ At Kassie’s ‘Insemination Party’, Wally accident spills the donor sperm, and in a panic secretly refills it with his own. Flash forward seven years, and Kassie returns to New York with a very Wally-like seven year old. His returning feelings for Kassie are compounded with his newly formed connection with her son, but can he reveal the truth about where he came from without losing Kassie forever?

The movie can’t overcome the hurdle of such an odd plot- almost using the son as a way to bring the leads together, like some sleazy bachelor might use a puppy. The addition of a big name cast elevates things, and the script in places is just enough to keep you going, but never enough to make you care.

It’s a depressing fact of Hollywood that once an actress turns 40, she is battling against the tide, and even an A-Lister of Aniston’s stature must be feeling that pressure, particularly as this performance shows she hasn’t evolved much since leaving the small screen. She’s ‘the love interest’, and is there for star power but not much more as the film is largely seen from Wally’s perspective. Despite the limp subject matter Bateman still has enough charisma to carry off the lead, and carries the movie towards the end. Perhaps the biggest joy, however, is Jeff Golblum and Juliette Lewis playing what normally would have been banal ‘best friend’ roles, but with their own twist that makes it something more interesting.

It’s not so much the predictability of the film, rather that it has to try so hard to make you like it. Goldblum was inspired casting, but the leads (although likeable) are hard to really root for and the comedy not clever enough to truly sweep you off your feet. A nice idea, but much like the other ‘baby in a baster’ comedy of the summer, ‘The Back Up Plan’, it runs its course without much to recommend it.

The Switch is in cinemas now.