Switch (1991 film)

Switch
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Blake Edwards
Produced by	Tony Adams Executive Producer: Arnon Milchan Patrick Wachsberger Associate Producer: Trish Caroselli
Written by	Blake Edwards
Starring	Ellen Barkin Bruce Payne Jimmy Smits JoBeth Williams Lorraine Bracco Tony Roberts Perry King
Music by	Henry Mancini Don Grady
Cinematography	Dick Bush
Edited by	Robert Pergament
Production company	HBO Films
Distributed by	Warner Bros. (Time Warner)
Release dates	May 10, 1991 (1991-05-10)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$15,545,943

Switch is a 1991 comedy film written and directed by Blake Edwards, based on George Axelrod's play Goodbye Charlie (and a 1964 film by the same title). The movie stars Ellen Barkin, Jimmy Smits, JoBeth Williams and Lorraine Bracco.

Plot

A promiscuous and rather misogynistic man, Steve (Perry King) is murdered by one of his three ex-lovers, and after death, the powers that be cannot decide whether to send him to heaven or to hell—his life is full of good deeds, but he's "been a shit" to women, and that behavior is keeping him from going to heaven. The powers that be decide to give him a test; he is reincarnated and given a limited amount of time to have at least one woman like him. To make the test more difficult, he is reincarnated as a beautiful woman (Ellen Barkin) named Amanda. After the change, Amanda/Steve encounters other people, including Steve's friend Walter, whom Amanda convinces of the truth of her identity, and lesbian perfume magnate Sheila. Both become attracted to Amanda, but Amanda rebuffs Sheila's advances, even knowing that she is giving up an opportunity for a woman to love her, because Steve is homophobic and could not abide having gay sex, even though he had sex exclusively with women, as Steve, in the past. Later, Amanda and Walter get drunk together and end up having sex. In the morning, Amanda claims no memory of the sex and accuses Walter of raping her. Walter acts surprised and insists that Amanda was an enthusiastic participant. Amanda rejects Walter, but she learns shortly thereafter that she has become pregnant from the encounter. At the childbirth, the baby girl gazes upon her mother with love, and then Amanda dies, having earned her place in heaven.

Reception

The film received mixed to negative reviews and holds a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[1] It debuted at No. 2 at the box office.^[2]

Legacy

Although not a success at the box office, Ellen Barkin was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role while Bruce Payne was described as a 'delightfully wicked Satan' by Film Review.^[3]

This film was indirectly referenced numerous times throughout the long-running series Mystery 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 of MST3K found 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".^[4] Smits became a running gag on 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

This motion picture was supposed to have a soundtrack composed and arranged by Henry Mancini, who shares composer credits with Don Grady, but Mancini's score was canned and replaced by a variation, by Paul Young/Clannad of Joni Mitchel's song "Both Sides." Both the unused Mancini score and the pop song soundtrack were produced on CD in 1991, as a result of which two motion picture soundtrack albums exist for this film.

Henry Mancini score

1. Main Title - Theme from "Switch" - 2:10
2. Something for Pizzi - 4:00
3. Amanda and the Devil - 2:25
4. Seduction - 3:17
5. Dukes - 3:00
6. It's All There (Song from "Switch" Instrumental) - 3:22
7. They Marry - 3:34
8. Fashion Show - 1:42
9. End Title - Theme from "Switch" - 4:30

Pop soundtrack

1. Lyle Lovett - "You Can't Resist It" - 3:05
2. Ronnie Milsap - "Old Habits Are Hard to Break" - 5:32
3. Bruce Hornsby and the Range - "Barren Ground" - 4:53
4. Paul Young/Clannad - "Both Sides, Now" - 5:10
5. Nathalie Archangel - "So Quiet, So Still" - 4:10
6. Pretty Boy Floyd - "Slam Dunk" - 2:55
7. Joe Ely - "Are You Listenin' Lucky?" - 3:34
8. Indecent Obsession - "Dream After Dream" - 4:06
9. The Jets - "Sendin' Out a Message" - 4:03
10. Jody Watley - "It's All There" - 2:38
11. Billie Holiday - "Lover Man" - 3:18

See also

• Body swap appearances in media

References

External links

• Switch at the Internet Movie Database
• Switch at AllMovie
• Switch at Box Office Mojo
• Switch at Rotten Tomatoes