The man who brought Charlie’s Angels to the big screen and delivered non-stop fun in the TV show Chuck takes a big swing at the body swap genre in Family Switch. Intrepid director McG fuels the new Netflix comedy, which draws off films like 13 Going On 30, Freaky, Change-Up, and others of its offbeat ilk. The result is a holiday family-friendly film that is inspiring, heartwarming, and fun.

Family Switch revolves around the very busy Walker family, a mod quad comprised of parents Jess and Bill, and children CC and Wyatt, brought to life with vigor by Jennifer Garner (The Last Thing He Told Me), Ed Helms (The Hangover), Emma Myers (Wednesday), and Brady Noon (The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers), respectively. Par for the body-switch course, the Walker fellas and ladies collectively muse about what it would be like to swap places with the others — Jess to CC; Bill to Wyatt.

Family Switch cranks up the holiday comedy antics by doubling on its body swap dilemma, and there are enough surprises to entice the entire family here. McG opens up with MovieWeb in this exclusive interview, diving into his creative process and much more.

A Body Swap Comedy with a Twist
Netflix

This wouldn’t be the first time Jennifer Garner headlines a body switch comedy. 13 Going On 30 charmed audiences and ultimately became a classic rom-com hit. In Family Switch, penned by Victoria Strouse, Adam Sztykiel, and Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Garner and her costars do the script justice, delivering a high-stakes comedic tale about how families navigate their way through challenges. Even big ones. As McG explained:

I always liked films that synthesize highbrow and lowbrow. So, it’s vibrating on one frequency that works for a sophisticated adult or young adult, then vibrating on a frequency that works for, you know, the young point of entry. Nobody does that better than Pixar. So, the prospect of making a live-action Pixar movie that works very well for an adult audience, but also has a really easy point of entry for kids really appealed to me.

He went on to say that he wanted to explore making a comedy that stood out, rather than to, “just contribute to Home Alone, Big, the great ones that have come before us in this emotional space.”

How the Cast Surprised McG
Netflix

McG is no stranger to films featuring an all-star cast. His work in TV’s True Lies and Turner & Hooch revealed the great ways he balanced action and humor and comedy. Let’s not forget Terminator: Salvation, This Means War, and the Charlie’s Angels films. Family Switch is loaded with great talent, featuring the likes of Rita Moreno (80 for Brady), Paul Scheer (The League, Star Trek: Lower Decks), Ned Bellamy (Blonde), Matthias Schweighöfer (Openheimer), and others.

Related: Every Movie Directed by McG, Ranked

From the get-go, the director said he was impressed with the entire cast, who each brought something grand to their characters as the Walkers endure their dilemma on a day when so many other things are unfolding. But when it came to casting, several actors surprised him. As McG explained:

“I saw Brady do [the Foreigner song] I Wanna Know What Love Is in Good Boys, and I’m like, ‘Please, can we get that kid?’… Then obviously, Emma just breaking it wide open with everything she did in Wednesday. She’s amazing and such a talented, disciplined, dimensional young actor. Ed Helms to me was perfect because he’s so cerebral and so smart, but so approachable. He has an effervescence that doesn’t make him standoffish, which can often happen with people that are that intelligent.”

On Jennifer Garner and Stunts
Netflix

And then there’s Jennifer Garner, to which McG added: “Jen Garner is just one of the greats. It was a thrill to be able to work with one of the all-time greats in our industry who’s been doing it and doing it well. She was a producer, she was a leader, she set the tone, and I was lucky to be a part of it.”

Related: Jennifer Garner’s Best Comedy Movies, Ranked

There’s a great deal of action sequences and physical comedy permeating Family Switch, which all translates well on screen, but some things were a little more challenging to pull off. McG points out one scene, in particular: “When they’re [The Walkers] are chasing the dog right after they ‘switch,’ and the dog ducks under the truck, and Ed Helm’s character pulls a hammy and quads, and sort of damages his newly found middle-aged self.” He elaborated:

“That was fun because we had this crazy little go-kart that had the camera on it, and all those actors were particularly spry. I mean, that Brady Noon… he plays on his volleyball team… Emma’s like a track star, and Jen Garner’s a physical freak show. She could win the decathlon today in the Olympics if she tried. So, we had this go-kart that we had to soup up and make it go faster to keep up with the actors.”

Family Switch arrives on Netflix December 30. You can check out the trailer and watch the film through the link below:

Watch on Netflix