Find the best for your family
See what's streaming, limit strong violence or language, and find picks your kids will love with Common Sense Media Plus.
A Christmas Switch
Common Sense says
- G
- 2018
- 90 minutes
Parents say
Kids say
Searching for streaming and purchasing options ...
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Get it now on
Searching for streaming and purchasing options ...
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that A Christmas Switch is a comedy about two moms -- one a wealthy, high-powered businesswoman, the other a hardworking waitress with little time for herself -- who magically change places just before Christmas. Scenes about the challenges and absurdities of trying to take on someone else's identity go hand in hand with messages about the value of family, finding balance in life, and examining priorities. Adults have a glass of wine in two scenes.
Stay up to date on new reviews.
User Reviews
- Parents say
- Kids say
There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What's the story?
Audrey Turner (Jackie Seiden) is overworked, overscheduled, and worried about money in A CHRISTMAS SWITCH. She's given up her lifelong musical ambition to be a devoted wife to Paul (Houston Rhines) and mom to young daughter Kelly (Cleary Herzlinger). Julia Samson (Ashley Wood) is overworked, overscheduled, and worried about her business. She has little time for her family and almost seems to like it that way. Nothing has prepared either of them for the magical moment in a Christmas store, presided over by a mysterious "Mrs. Nick" (Annie Abbott). Two whispered wishes, a tug, a fall -- and suddenly it's the next day. Each wakes up in someone else's bed: alone, astounded, confused, and facing a stranger in the mirror. As they slowly learn the truth about their predicament and negotiate their way into the lives of another, concern about how and why it happened gives way to the magic of finding out about themselves.
Is it any good?
A cheery Christmas ambiance, an adorable little girl, and other effective performances have to make up for some careless plotting in this timeworn tale of trading places. In a movie that already demands a substantial willingness to suspend disbelief, the script gives short shrift to logic. Convenient performances on a stage in a small diner so that a music mogul can pop in to hear a waitress sing? A decidedly middle-class family who can't afford a $9 toy but has a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with an array of gaily wrapped gifts beneath it?
On the bright side (and the movie IS bright), Cleary Herzlinger as 4-year-old Kelly Turner is delightful without being precocious. And while the rich woman has a lot more to take away from her experience in A Christmas Switch than the struggling one, the two actresses give it their all.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about the appeal of movies in which characters trade places. What makes A Christmas Switch funny? Do you think the characters learn more about themselves or about the folks whose body they inhabited? Explain.
At what point did you know exactly how this movie would end? What elements make a film enjoyable in spite of its predictability?
Find out what it means to "willingly suspend disbelief." When did you "agree" to suspend your disbelief in this movie?
What's this movie's message about the importance of finding balance in life?
Movie details
- On DVD or streaming: November 11, 2018
- Cast: Jackie Seiden, Ashley Wood, Cleary Herzlinger
- Director: Brian Herzlinger
- Studio: MarVista Entertainment
- Genre: Comedy
- Run time: 90 minutes
- MPAA rating: G
- Last updated: December 18, 2019
For kids who love the holidays
Our editors recommend
Top advice and articles
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.