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The #1 movie on Netflix this weekend is Family Switch, a body swap comedy that also doubles as a Christmas movie. (Boy, the algorithm was really working overtime on this one, huh?) The movie is chock full of familiar faces: Body swap veteran Jennifer Garner, The Office‘s resident a capella harmonizer Ed Helms, Oscar winner Rita Moreno, comedians Fortune Feimster, Pete Holmes, and Paul Scheer, and even AGT frontman Howie Mandel. But wait a second … are those members of Weezer?
Is That Really Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo starring in Family Switch?
Your eyes do not deceive you. In the movie, Ed Helms plays a high school music teacher who moonlights as a member of the aging group of dad rockers called Dad or Alive. And yes, the band is comprised of multiple members of Weezer, including frontman Rivers Cuomo…
…guitarist Brian Bell…
…and even rhythm section Scott Shriner (bass) and Patrick Wilson (drums).
Wait, why is Weezer in Family Switch?
Well, if you’re going to cast people in your movie as members of a rock band, why not cast actual musicians that actually rock? That, and it probably has a lot to do with the fact that this movie is directed by Joseph McGinty, better known by the moniker McG. Before he turned feature film director of movies such as Charlie’s Angels and The Babysitter, McG rose to prominence as the director of some truly iconic ’90s and early ’00s music videos. We’re talkin’ videos like “Pretty Fly For A White Guy” by The Offspring, “When It’s Over” by Sugar Ray, and “All Star” by Smash Mouth. However, McG never made a music video with Weezer — “Buddy Holly” was a Spike Jonze joint, if you’re curious — so how did this come to fruition?
“Straight stalkin’ got that done,” McG admits in an interview he did with YouTube personality Kyle Meredith. “I’ve been chasin’ Rivers Cuomo around since ’93. That Blue record really knocked me out.”
There you have it!
