Jennifer Aniston has signed on for a new movie! Okay, I’m making that sound like it just happened, but I guess she’s been planning to do this film for a while, but there was just a casting shake-up. Aniston will be starring in an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s bestseller The Switch. Right now the cast includes John Hawkes and Isla Fisher, but Dennis Quaid and Ty Burrell have just left the project, and they were replaced by Will Forte and Tim Robbins. Tim Robbins will be playing Jennifer’s husband!
Spoilers for the plot of the film below:
I’m a fan of Elmore Leonard’s writing, but the man is crazy prolific and I haven’t even scratched the surface of his oeuvre, so I’m not familiar with The Switch at all. Apparently, the book was a sort-of prequel to Rum Punch (which was adapted for the screen as Jackie Brown). The book doesn’t feature Jackie Brown herself, so probably NO PAM GRIER, which is sad. In typical Leonard fashion, the plot revolves around a criminal duo kidnapping the wife of a shady real estate developer. The wife is Aniston, the husband is Tim Robbins, and the criminal duo will be played by…? I’m not sure. Will Forte plays a character adjacent to the crime. According to Us Weekly, “The husband decides it’s a good way to get rid of his wife, and refuses to pay the ransom. But his wife then teams up with the kidnappers to get all of his money.”
So, there you go. You don’t even have to see it now! I actually think this is a great career move for Aniston – Elmore Leonard’s books generally make great screenplays, and Leonard has that wry, dark humor and violence that he balances with great plots. It will be a nice change for Jennifer to do an ensemble film based on a beloved book… although I’m pretty sure the plot is very much like that great Danny DeVito-Bette Midler movie, Ruthless People. Right?!
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
wasn’t she already in “The Switch” with Jason Bateman? I dunno, I’ll probably wait for the video before I see it..
Yep. She wanted to get pregnant via a sperm donor and Bateman’s character swapped the semen with his own. Super lame. I tried to watch it a while back and gave up less than halfway through. I’m surprised they’d use the same name for this movie as a lot of people may confuse it with the crappy Bateman comedy…
hasnt she already filmed in the film fore?
The cast (besides her) actually sounds decent so good for her…she fairs better in ensemble pieces but she has proven many times over she can’t carry a film.
She always plays the same character in every movie, boring…
Right? She was so endearing in Friends, I WANT to like her in the films she does, but she just isn’t translating onto the big screen well.
What did you guys think of her in The Good Girl (that movie where she played a Wal-mart employee, I think?). She was surprisingly pretty decent in that movie, I thought…and it was not a Rachel-like role
I think it will probably be good. Love Tim Robbins, and the storyline sounds fun. It’s a great move for her.
yes her movie w Jason Bateman about switching sperm samples was called The Switch, but lots of movies go thru several titles before they are released.
it actually sounds good, but this director (Schechter) hasn’t done anything noteworthy so it could be a disaster.
I think the director needs to demand she cannot appear with her usual tanned self. It’s a joke anymore. No matter the season in the movie, winter, fall, etc, Jen is tan. Same old look. Go look at her early movies before her tanorexia hit. I am excited to see Tim Robbins in this movie, a highly underrated actor. I just saw Shawshank Redemption again the other night and was thinking how much I miss him in a movie. I think Jen could be good in this movie. I liked her in the same type of movie, Derailed. I love love Isla Fisher. It sounds like a good movie.
This is an odd question, so you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to, and I don’t mean to offend by asking this, but where are you from? The way you used “anymore” is odd. I keep seeing it used in comments on the Internet the way you used it, but I have never heard someone say it that way. I’m just curious to see if it’s a regional thing.
I thought Tim Robbins had lost it? Didn’t he have an incoherent rant in an interview not too long ago?
I adore her I’m gonna watch it!
Good pairing – it will be interesting to see the chemistry between them as Tim is way hotter than Justin.
This is going to be good. I love Jen. Also, Tim Robbins & Isla Fisher are really good actors. Good casting so far. This is the book Jen was reading on the balcony when they were in Cabo. Jen is preparing!!
yeah,but ask her about the story of the movie she can’t explain.lol.
Oh I thought the plot read exactly like RUTHLESS PEOPLE. Love that film. I’ll save myself another Jen Aniston disaster, even if written by Elmore Leanord and stick to the earlier film.
Seriously people, if you haven’t seen RUTHLESS PEOPLE, I’d recommend you find a copy and watch. It’s funny as hell, and has stood the test of time.
I love Ruthless People.
I loved Ruthless People too. Remember when Bette Midler was wailing that she had been “marked down?” Funny, funny movie.
I posted something similar about the “Ruthless People” plot similarity, but for some reason the post has disappeared.
Kaiser et al … could you guys at least put a ‘removed by moderator’ tag up when you remove a post? That way we won’t think we’re crazy when it disappears. Thank you.
Tim Robbins is a great actor, and (usually) makes the actors around him seem better. Does he have enough chops to make Aniston better? That’s the question. At the end of the day, Jen is a modestly good actress, not a great one, and never will be. Her level of talent is better tailored for TV, particularly when she is part of an ensemble cast and isn’t required to carry the ball. She could probably also earn a reputation as a good supporting actress, if she would get over her addiction to tanned skin and bleached blond hair, and go after quirky character roles as opposed to the leading lady.
Another Jen bomb , no thanks.
This is a bummer. I think Elmore Leonard’s books are great, and I don’t think she would be right for one of his characters. She doesn’t have enough sass and sarcasm, etc… She’s too flighty and one-note in her acting.
This is probably why Dennis Quaid and Ty Burrell dropped out. I looove Ty.
She signed on last February and it was supposed to film in the summer, but got pushed back. Quaid had to commit to his new TV show, and Burrell just recently dropped out, because of conflicts with Modern Family another movie commitment.
I think the talent comes out about even. Robbins is better than Quaid, but I like Burrell better than Forte.
I can think of 10 other women that would make a better wifey for Robbins in this film and I haven’t even had coffee yet!
I agree.
they will probably change the name at some point. Still won’t be seeing it. Tim has not worked in a while.
John Hawkes is playing one of the kidnappers, I think. Great cast and a nice change of pace.
Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) is the other kidnapper, and I’ve generally found him pretty enjoyable as an actor.
Christ…….she’ll be like Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher.
It can’t be better than Ruthless People and it’s almost the same plot so I’m gonna say I’ll wait til it’s on HBO.
Love Tim Robbins; sounds like a good chance for Jennifer. I hope they do something different with her hair.
New title : “Rachel Getting Kidnapped” No thanks.
She was rocking her cinnamon face leather skin look on jimmy last night and god it shows up her OLD
She was good in Along Came Polly. She could do well in this. I’ll watch it. I like her!
LIFE TIME MOVIE?CAN`T SEE A STUDIO WASTING TIME ON HER ,ON THE BIG SCREEN.
TIME FOR HER TO DO INFO COMMERCIALS.
I like Leonard’s books, but by far the best adaption of them has been Justified. Some of the other films fell kind of flat.
Good cast though, I’ll probably see it at some point, and I bet they end up changing the title.
You mean girlfriend can get off the tanning chair and do a little work now and then?
I was looking at the popsugar link on your page and I really think Jennifer is pregnant. She’s gain weight and she’s always wearing something to hide her stomach lately. Remember I predict it first..lololol
I agree…either she is pregnant or she has gained a lot of weight…she looked CHUNKY on Kimmel…