Switch(1991 film)
Switch | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Blake Edwards |
Written by | Blake Edwards |
Based on | Goodbye Charlie 1959 play byGeorge Axelrod Goodbye Charlie 1964 film byVincente Minnelli |
Produced by | Tony Adams |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Dick Bush |
Edited by | Robert Pergament |
Music by | Henry Mancini Don Grady |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production companies | HBO Cinema Plus L.P. |
Distributed by | Warner Bros.(North America) Odyssey/Regency[1](International) |
Release date |
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Running time | 103 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $14 million[1] |
Box office | $15.5 million |
Switchis a 1991 Americanfantasycomedy filmwritten and directed byBlake Edwards.Based onGeorge Axelrod's 1959 playGoodbye Charlie(and the 1964 film of thesame title), the film starsEllen Barkin,Jimmy Smits,JoBeth Williams,andLorraine Bracco.
Plot
[edit]Ad man Steve Brooks — a promiscuousmisogynistand quintessential chauvinist — is invited to a deadly surprise party by three former lovers. Margo, Liz and Felicia try to drown him in the hot tub. When that fails, Margo shoots him point blank in the chest, killing him.
Inpurgatory,God (communicating through male and female voices) gives Steve one chance at redemption. He is returned to Earth, alive, and told that he must find a soulmate, a female who truly loves him. If he fails, he will go to Hell.
The Devil convinces God to give Steve a challenge, taking his infamous charm into account, and Steve is transformed into a beautiful woman, Amanda. Amanda goes to Margo, convinces her that she is Steve and persuades her to give her lessons in being a woman.
Telling everyone that Steve has run off and that she is his half-sister, Amanda moves into Steve's life, convincing his Boss at the advertising agency, Arnold Friedkin, to give her Steve's job, which partly involves getting a plum account withlesbiancosmetics magnate Sheila Faxton.
Amanda tries to use her new female body as a weapon in her campaign to get the account and to win a woman's love. Sheila responds, but Amanda balks on following through on the seduction. Margo reminds her that homophobia was one of the traits that made Steve so hateful. Amanda breaks up with Sheila, telling her that the romance was contrived to get her as a client. The agency keeps the account but Sheila is furious at Amanda.
When Amanda prays to God for help, the Devil offers her a job with his operation. She refuses and calls all the names in Steve's address book, hoping to find a woman who has something kind to say about him. Instead she discovers just how hated Steve is, and how deeply she, when Steve, damaged countless women. In the course of the film, Amanda also begins to understand how women live and resent the way men — including herself when Steve — perversely treat them.
Steve's best friend, Walter Stone, has been attracted to Amanda from their first meeting and, when despair sends her on a bender, he joins her. They get drunk together and Amanda convinces Walter that she is Steve. One night after a bar fight, they both get drunk and fall asleep in the same bed. Later, she discovers that Walter took advantage of the situation.
In the morning, Amanda has no memory of the encounter and accuses Walter of raping her while she was passed out — the same thing Steve himself would have done. He is astonished, insisting that she was not only awake but an enthusiastic participant. Amanda recognizes the difference between the man she used to be as Steve and the far better man that Walter is.
Meanwhile, Steve's body has been found in the river and Margo plants her gun in Amanda's sofa, framing her for the crime. When Amanda is found psychologically unfit for trial, she is committed to the mental hospital, where she learns she is pregnant with Walter's child. There are dangerous complications, but she insists on carrying the baby to term. Walter proposes, and Amanda reluctantly accepts: they are married. Months pass, and with Walter beside her, Amanda gives birth to a baby girl. The newborn infant gazes at her mother with love, and Amanda dies, having earned a place in Heaven.
Upon arriving in Heaven, Amanda must decide whether to spend eternity as a male or a female angel. She finds the decision difficult, especially after, five years later, she watches as Walter and their daughter bring flowers to her grave. God, in their dual voices, reassures Amanda that she has all eternity to decide.
Cast
[edit]- Ellen Barkinas Amanda Brooks
- Jimmy Smitsas Walter Stone
- JoBeth Williamsas Margo Brofman
- Lorraine Braccoas Sheila Faxton
- Tony Robertsas Arnold Freidkin
- Perry Kingas Steve Brooks
- Bruce Martyn Payneas The Devil
- Lysette Anthonyas Liz
- Victoria Mahoneyas Felicia
- Basil Hoffmanas Higgins
- Catherine Keeneras Steve's Secretary
- Kevin Kilneras Dan Jones
- Michael Badaluccoas Hard Hat
- David Wohlas Attorney Caldwell
- James Harperas Lieutenant Laster
- John Lafayette as Sergeant Phillips
- Téa Leonias Connie, The Dream Girl
- Faith Mintonas Nancy, The Bouncer
- Ben Hartigan as Minister
God is voiced byLinda Garyand Richard Provost.
Reception
[edit]The film received mixed to negative reviews and holds a 32% rating onRotten Tomatoesfrom 25 reviews, with an average rating of 4.60/10.[2]OnMetacritic,the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[3]
It debuted at No. 2 at the box office.[4]Roger Ebertgave it 2 1/2 out of 4 stars. He saw unfulfilled potential: "If Edwards had somehow found a way to really grapple with the implications of his story - if he had pushed to see how far he could go -Switchmight have been a truly revolutionary comedy, on the order ofTootsiebut more sexually frank... "[5]
The film was released on January 27, 1993 on VHS by HBO Home Video.
Legacy
[edit]AlthoughSwitchwas not a success at the box office, Ellen Barkin was nominated for aGolden Globefor her role, whileBruce Paynewas described as a "delightfully wicked Satan" byFilm Review.[6]
This film was indirectly referenced numerous times throughout the long-running seriesMystery Science Theater 3000.In the original television spots for the film, Jimmy Smits' name was announced in an unusual way: "Ellen Barkin.Switch.Jimmy Smits. Starts Friday. "The writers ofMST3Kfound it amusing that Smits' name was announced after the title and not announced as "also starring Jimmy Smits" or "with Jimmy Smits", only as "Jimmy Smits".[7]Smits became arunning gagon the series: in various episodes, a character of the show would say "Jimmy Smits" whenever the word "switch" was uttered or sometimes for seemingly no reason at all.
Music
[edit]The motion picture was supposed to have a soundtrack composed and arranged byHenry Mancini,who shares composer credits withDon Grady,but Mancini's score was ultimately replaced by a variation of Joni Mitchell's song "Both Sides, Now",done byPaul Young/Clannad.Both the unused Mancini score and the pop song soundtrack were produced onCDin 1991, as a result of which two motion picture soundtrack albums exist for the film.
Henry Mancini score
- Main Title - Theme from "Switch" - 2:10
- Something for Pizzi - 4:00
- Amanda and the Devil - 2:25
- Seduction - 3:17
- Dukes - 3:00
- It's All There (Song from "Switch" Instrumental) - 3:22
- They Marry - 3:34
- Fashion Show - 1:42
- End Title - Theme from "Switch" - 4:30
Pop soundtrack
- Lyle Lovett- "You Can't Resist It"- 3:05
- Ronnie Milsap- "Old Habits Are Hard to Break" - 5:32
- Bruce Hornsby and the Range- "Barren Ground" - 4:53
- Paul Young/Clannad- "Both Sides, Now"- 5:10
- Nathalie Archangel - "So Quiet, So Still" - 4:10
- Pretty Boy Floyd- "Slam Dunk"(written byQuiet Riotand later recorded for their albumDown to the Boneand rerecord forAlive and Well)- 2:55
- Joe Ely- "Are You Listenin' Lucky?" - 3:34
- Indecent Obsession- "Dream After Dream" - 4:06
- The Jets- "Sendin' Out a Message" - 4:03
- Jody Watley- "It's All There" - 2:38
- Billie Holiday- "Lover Man" - 3:18
References
[edit]- ^ab"Switch".AFI Catalog.RetrievedMarch 22,2021.
- ^Switch,Rotten Tomatoes,retrieved2023-08-02
- ^Switch Reviews,Metacritic,retrieved2022-03-19
- ^"WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 'FX2' Leads a Slow Field".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2012-06-06.
- ^Ebert, Roger (May 10, 1991)."Reviews: Switch".Roger Ebert.
- ^"Plane Payne".Archived fromthe originalon December 19, 2008.RetrievedMarch 22,2021.
- ^Beaulieu, Trace;et al. (1996).The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide.New York:Bantam Books.p. 164.ISBN0-553-37783-3.
External links
[edit]- 1991 films
- 1991 LGBT-related films
- 1990s English-language films
- 1991 romantic comedy films
- 1990s sex comedy films
- American fantasy comedy films
- American satirical films
- American sex comedy films
- Lesbian-related films
- Fiction about purgatory
- Films about reincarnation
- Films set in New York City
- Films directed by Blake Edwards
- Films with screenplays by Blake Edwards
- Films scored by Henry Mancini
- Regency Enterprises films
- Warner Bros. films
- 1990s American films
- American LGBT-related films