''Date and Switch'' is a 2014 American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

sex comedy Sex comedy, erotic comedy or more broadly sexual comedy is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sex comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary works such ...

film directed by Chris Nelson and written by

Alan Yang Alan Michael Yang (born August 22, 1983) is an American screenwriter, producer, director and actor. He was a writer and producer for the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'', for which he received his first Emmy nomination. With Aziz Ansari, Yang ...

and stars

Nicholas Braun Nicholas Joseph Braun (born May 1, 1988) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Hirsch in the HBO series ''Succession'' (2018–present), for which he has received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supp ...

, Hunter Cope,

Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, she made her film debut at age ten with a minor role in the dark comedy film ''Crazy in Alabama'' (1999) with her mothe ...

, and

Zach Cregger Zachary Michael Cregger (born March 1, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and Twitch (service), Twitch streamer. He first came to prominence as one of the three founding members, alongside Trevor Moore (comedian), ...

. The film's plot features Matty and Michael, two best friends who vow to have sex. Matty tells Michael that he is gay, which unexpectedly changes their quest.

Plot

Best friends Matty and Michael break up with their high-school girlfriends, Em and Ava, while making a pact to have a sexual relationship with an older woman. Matty also comes out as gay to Em. Matty and Michael make a pot brownie as a motivational prize for having sex before prom, but Michael feels betrayed when Matty comes out to him. He avoids Matty until Em explains that his friend needs his support, and they go to a gay club where they unexpectedly meet two of their teachers. Outside the club, a young man named Greg hits Michael's car and they get into a fight. Michael tries auditioning as a vocalist for Matty's band. At night, the friends go to another gay club where they take drugs and dance. Matty stops by Em's house and they have sex. Later, Matty meets Greg and they have fun together. Michael fails to get back together with Ava, and Em drives him to the garage and helps him talk with his mechanic. Later, after giving up on the band, Michael is told by Em that Ava had been cheating on him. They hang out at a construction site and Michael begins to proposition Em when they see Matty making out with Greg, and all four feel awkward. Matty and Michael mend their friendship the next day at a go-kart track. Michael tries to proposition Em again but she tells him about the night she and Matty had sex, and he leaves her. Michael gets drunk and outs Matty to his parents, and Matty sends him a hate message. Em criticizes Michael the next day at school. Ostracized, Michael returns to the first gay bar and meets Greg, and they learn that Matty won't talk to either of them. At prom, Michael brings Greg as his date while Matty brings Em. Michael gets on stage and sings a song from his and Matty's fourth-grade play, when they became best friends. Michael is accused of being gay and he responds that Greg is a cool guy and that he doesn't care if people call him gay. Michael and Matty apologize to Em and Greg, and go out to the parking lot. Michael was going to get rid of the pot brownie but Matty says that it's beautiful and artistic. They reconcile and, joined by Em and Greg, eat the brownie together. Too high to go back into the prom, they go out to a gay club and dance together, on what Matty declares to be the best day of his life.

Cast

as Michael * Hunter Cope as Matty *

as Em *

Nick Offerman Nicholas David Offerman (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, writer, comedian, producer, and carpenter. He is best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'', for which he received the Television Critics A ...

as Terry *

Gary Cole Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American television, film and voice actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he has had starring roles in the T ...

as Dwayne *

Megan Mullally Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for playing Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'' (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award no ...

as Patricia *

Sarah Hyland Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24, 1990) is an American actress and singer. Born in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School before having small roles in the films '' Private Parts'' (1997), '' Annie'' (1999) and ''Blin ...

as Ava *

Brian Geraghty Brian Timothy Geraghty (born May 13, 1975) is an American actor, known for his roles in the 2005 film '' Jarhead'', the 2008 film ''The Hurt Locker'', and in the 2012 film ''Flight'', along with his recurring role in the HBO drama series '' Board ...

as Lars *

as Greg *

Quinn Lord Quinn Edmond Julian Lord (born February 19, 1999) is a Canadian actor. Beginning his professional acting career at the age of five, Lord played Sam in the 2007 feature film ''Trick 'r Treat'' and was nominated for the Young Artist Award as Best ...

as Michael (8 years old) *

Adam DiMarco Adam DiMarco (born ) is a Canadian actor. He has played recurring roles in the Syfy series '' The Magicians'' (2016–2020) and the Netflix series '' The Order'' (2019–2020). In 2022, he portrayed Albie Di Grasso in the HBO series ''The White ...

as Jared *

Aziz Ansari Aziz Ismail Ansari (; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series ''Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and as creator and star of the Netflix series ''Master ...

as Marcus *

Larry Wilmore Elister Larry WilmoreThe name Elister L. Wilmore is given at This matches the birth date and birthplace for "Larry Wilmore" at (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspo ...

as Mr. Vernon

Production

started writing the script in 2009, originally titled ''Gay Dude''. The film was reported to be part of

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

's ten "microbudget" projects, all produced for under $2 million. The budget expanded to $6 million to include marketing cost.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, in August 2011.

Release

''Date and Switch'' was released in eleven theatrical markets on February 14, 2014 in the United States, as well as

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

. The film opened on March 6, 2014 in six theaters in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and grossed $28,222. The film was released to DVD and Blu-ray on April 15, 2014, and made approximately $77,667 in sales.

Critical reception

Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports that 30% of 10 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 10.

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

gives the film a weighted average rating of 56 out of 100, based on 8 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Jeannette Catsoulis of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that the film "balances formula with winning performances, genuine humor, and a generosity of spirit that this genre often lacks". She also singled out actress

, for her "standout" performance.

References

External links

* * {{Mojo title 2014 LGBT-related films 2014 romantic comedy films 2010s buddy comedy films 2010s high school films 2010s sex comedy films 2010s teen comedy films 2010s teen romance films 2014 films American buddy comedy films American high school films American romantic comedy films American sex comedy films American teen comedy films American teen LGBT-related films American teen romance films Films about virginity Films shot in Vancouver Gay-related films LGBT-related buddy comedy films LGBT-related romantic comedy films LGBT-related sex comedy films Lionsgate films Teen buddy films Teen sex comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films