The amusing Canadian comedy Switched At Death, directed by David Merry, proves the old hats still have some great tricks. Gerry (Alex Kolanko) is pissing off his expecting wife, Liz (Meeland Nicola), by missing their Lamaze classes while he concentrates on his drinking and gambling. He gets locked out of the house, and nobody he knows will let him invade their sofas. Out of desperation, he imposes on his wife’s grandmother, Barbara (Lori Dawnolyn), in the middle of the night in the rest home she lives in. Barbara generously allows Gerry to crash on her couch, which is actually a small loveseat that a cat has shat on.
“Desperate for money, he is able to hack into some resident accounts for some quick cash.”
Gerry gets restless in the rest home fast, as they don’t watch any of the sports he bets on; they just watch The Sound Of Music every night. Also, he complains endlessly about the cafeteria food, which is really getting on the nerves of Saul (Jamie Sherman), one of the residents. Additionally, there are constant visits to the home by John (Vincent Salvador), wheeling covered stretchers to the mortuary. With his life falling apart and getting no food or sleep, Gerry loses his job at the cyber-security firm he works at. Desperate for money, he is able to hack into some resident accounts for some quick cash. That is when he comes across something much bigger going on at the Sunset Retirement Center…
It is important for a movie to start off on the right foot. In this case, the right foot has a toe tag on it. Merry begins Switched At Death with this brilliant opening credits sequence in a morgue where the cast names appear on a toe tag. This is the first part of the solid architecture built by the script written by Merry, Marty Putz, and Cathy Merry.
"…There are some depth charge laughs to be had here, going right for the belly."
