Have you ever wondered what would happen if you could get in your father’s shoes and solve all his problems? Or your sister suddenly becomes your mother’s body and completes the routine work at home? Family Switch shows you what would happen, if such a scenario did take place, providing the audience with a hilarious ride they will never forget.

Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms, Brady Noon and Emma Myers star in this family drama as an upper-middle-class cool family. However, in pursuit of their dreams, the parents seem to be out of touch with the kids. Add a dog and a toddler, and the entire family is complaining, all the time. The men have nothing in common, while the girls have their strong ambitions to follow. A miracle is needed and arrives when the family is visiting the planetarium and what follows next is what we can call a comedy of errors.

Architect Jess and music teacher Bill Walker (played by Jennifer Lawrence and Ed Helms), star as the parents of three. Their daughter CC (played by Emma Myers) is running for the US Soccer team while their son Wyatt (Brady Noon) is a science prodigy. Just before Christmas, the souls of the entire family get swapped, where the son becomes the father, the father becomes the son, the daughter becomes the mother, and the mother becomes the daughter.

Loosely based on the picture book Bedtime for Mommy by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Family Switch is three times as much fun as Freaky Friday, where the souls of the mother and the daughter get swapped. It takes the concept of Freaky Friday a step further, where everyone is jumbled. Directed by McG, the movie tends to grow on you.

An entire family could easily watch the 101-minute film, where success comes when they pursue it as a family.

In today’s world, every member of every family is overworked and does not get the appreciation he needs. One must appreciate what others do for you; teens need space and support from their parents so they can explore their interests and passions, while parents need time alone to stay connected. It takes walking in somebody else’s shoes to empathise with each other’s feelings and to appreciate each other. The movie defines what the meaning of the family is.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 27th, 2024