Switch

This delectable family flick (produced by Disney TV), which dishes up ample guffaws all around, is based on the premise that empathy comes only when we've walked a mile in another man's--or woman's--shoes. For Sara Anderson (Vivica Fox of TV's "City of Angels"), those shoes are football cleats belonging to her husband, quarterback Dan Anderson (played by David Alan Grier of TV's "In Living Color"). At the film's opening, Dan and Sara are experiencing marital fallout. According to their preteen children, Clark and Annette, Mom thinks Dad is a dork who would rather travel around the country just to push some ball across the field than spend time with his family. And Dad thinks Mom's job--staying at home and teaching art history on the side--would be a cinch. When a new position with the Saints takes the family to New Orleans, the Andersons purchase a dilapidated mansion that once belonged to a sorceress. There's still a bit of magical potion left in the attic, so, as a last-ditch effort to save their parents' marriage, Clark and Annette cast a spell on Mom and Dad. The next morning Dan and Sara awaken to discover they inhabit each other's bodies. In order to prevent anyone's discovery of their predicament, Dan-as-Sara now has to contend with nail polish, makeup, and a first-trimester pregnancy. Equally difficult, Sara-as-Dan must report for football training without a notion of how the game is played. The stage is set for gaffes galore and some priceless commentary on the differences between the sexes. The remaining question is whether the children can reverse the spell of the saintly switch without breaking the magic of a much-improved marriage. (Ages 7 and older.) --Lynn Gibson