‘Switch Up’ Review (SXSW 2024)

photo credit: Switch Up LLC

Written by: Gracie Lowes

Tara Pirnia is back with another romantic comedy called ‘Switch Up’ which recently had its world premiere at the 2024 South By Southwest festival.

The film stars Julieth Restrepo, Cristián de la Fuente, Shondrella Avery, Temple Baker, R. Brandon Johnson, Sal Velez Jr., Donnell Rawlings, Jeff Fahey, Von Decarlo, Lucky Cantu, and more.

‘Switch Up’ follows Ricardo De La Cruz (de la Fuente) an A-list celebrity and hit talk show host who is on top of the world. Unfortunately with the entertainment industry being such a competitive place, Ricardo learns that his show is losing viewers due to the lack of connection or important stories making it into the final cut.

In hopes to restore his ratings and help Ricardo seem more relatable his manager and showrunner, Marie (Avery), suggests he film a segment of him volunteering at a homeless shelter/ soup kitchen.

After showing up to get content at a local shelter run by Cassandra (Restrepo), Ricardo receives news that photos of him and some bad people have come to light and have caused him to hand over his show to his co-host Marcus (Johnson).

With no job and nowhere to go Ricardo seeks refuge at Cassandra’s shelter, and in the process of his life getting turned upside down some secrets and feelings come to the surface of the pair's strange new relationship.

Photo credit: @switchupthemovie on Instagram

Throughout the movie Restrepo and de la Fuente showcase their talent with their undeniable chemistry, whether that be through hate or other feelings the pair are able to play off of each other's emotions to create the perfect atmosphere for this story.

Along with the acting, the locations and sets that were used in this film were so well done and had so much effort put into them that viewers felt as though they were transported into the locations with the stars.

Overall, I give ‘Switch Up’ a 1 ½ out of 5 stars.

It was a cute/ feel-good film and the actors on this project did a great job at bringing the story to life and their chemistry could be felt through the screen. But along with that, the plot line felt slow at certain parts and had a predictable ending within the first few minutes.

If you enjoy Hallmark channel movies then I think you will enjoy watching ‘Switch Up’.