McG Reveals How Jennifer Garner Was Instrumental In Building 'Family Vibe' for Family Switch Cast (Exclusive)

In a Q&A with TooFab, McG opened up about working with Garner on the project, praising Garner -- who both stars in and produces the Family Switch -- as "talented," "professional," and a "great leader" who "radiates good energy."

The director also revealed Garner even hosted the cast at her house, where she cooked for everyone and built "a family vibe."

"If you get together and get to know the people you're working with, you let down your guard, and you really get involved, and you feel safe, so you can take chances and go for it," he said TooFab. "And that was essential to the success of this film. So it's really to Jennifer's credit that she built such a family outside the movie that was able to show up in the movie."

The logline for the film, per Netflix, reads: "Jess and Bill Walker are doing their best to keep their family connected as their children grow older, more independent, and more distant. When a chance encounter with an astrological reader causes the family to wake up to a full body switch, on the morning of the most important day of each of their lives, can the Walkers unite to land a promotion, college interview, record deal and soccer tryout?"

In addition to Garner, the movie also stars Ed Helms, Emma Myers, Brady Noon, and Rita Moreno.

However, Family Switch isn't your average body switch movie as it features a six-way switch -- mom and daughter, dad and son, and dog and baby -- which McG said is the film's "signature of originality" and what sets it apart from other similar movies, such as Garner's 13 Going on 30. (Family Switch even gets a little meta, throwing out a hilarious reference to the iconic body swap romcom.)

Meanwhile, McG -- who has worked steadily with Netflix since 2017 -- got candid about his relationship with the streamer, sharing what he enjoys most about working with them. The director also teased his upcoming Netflix adaptation of the dystopian YA novel, Uglies, and offered an update on the film, which stars Joey King and Chase Stokes.

See more from McG in the full Q&A, below.

What drew you to this project? For someone who hasn't seen the film, how would you explain how the Family Switch is different from other switched body movies and stands out?

I love body switch movies. I can't really think of one I didn't like, and Jen's been a part of 13 Going on 30, one of the great ones of all time. And we thought, well, maybe if we make it a six-way switch -- father, son, mother, daughter, dog, baby -- that would be our contribution of originality to a wonderful genre that I think is evergreen. And I always enjoy these movies. So yeah, we thought the fact that it's a six-way switch would be our signature of originality.

This cast is incredible, especially Ed Helms and Jennifer Garner. What was it like directing those two actors and working with them on this?

Incredible. I mean, Jen Garner's a great leader. She's a producer on the movie. She's so professional. She's so talented, and she just radiates good energy onto the set. And the hope is that positive feeling comes across in the film. And I hope people go, "Wow, it looks like they were having a really good time making this movie." Because we did have a good time making the movie, and very much on purpose. And Ed is so smart, and he's so funny. Every day, we'd get the scripted pages, but then we'd do so much improv because he was always up for it. And Emma Meyers is so great coming on the heels of Wednesday and everything she did as the roommate of Enid. And Brady Noon, I saw him do "I Wanna Know What Love Is" by Foreigner in Good Boys. And I'm like, "Get me that kid. He's out of his mind. I love this kid."

What was the dynamic like on set? Since the film focuses on The Walker family, did the family feel translate onto the set?

Absolutely. And Jen was smart enough to bring everybody over to her house and cook for all of us and really build a family vibe. And it just shows her experience. She knew what she was doing. If you get together and get to know the people you're working with, you let down your guard, and you really get involved, and you feel safe, so you can take chances and go for it. And that was essential to the success of this film. So it's really to Jennifer's credit that she built such a family outside the movie that was able to show up in the movie.

What was it like tackling your first holiday film?

I love the holidays, and I've got kids now, so it's a little bit different. And I love the idea of everybody assembling on the couch after stuffing themselves, and they're trying to figure out, "What are we gonna watch?" And I just want it to be an easy choice to say: Elf, Home Alone, Family Switch. I want to go up there on the shelf with those great ones. And it's a high goal, but I hope we did it with this film. I think people are responding well, and they're laughing and crying a little bit and thoroughly entertained all the while.

If you could switch bodies with any director — dead or alive — for a day, who would it be and why?

I think that would be Chris Nolan because he's absolutely the most prolific director of our time. I know him a little bit. He's a wonderful guy. He's a gentleman. He is a family guy, and he's incredibly talented when it comes to his craft. And how could I not say Chris Nolan? I mean, Quentin [Tarantino] would be fun. I think Phoebe Waller-Bridge is about as talented as they come. Emerald Fennell is unbelievable. But yeah, I think it would still have to be Chris Nolan, and I don't know, maybe Preston Sturges so I could choke on a sandwich and go out kicking.

This movie has so many funny moments and one-liners. One of our favorites was the 13 Going on 30 reference. Do you have a favorite funny scene or line in the film?

My favorite scene in the film is probably the concert scene at the end with the guys in Weezer. And Ed was jamming in between takes, and Jen was singing, and those were all, you know, authentically young kids in the audience that were high school kids, and they were jumping up and down and having fun, and we were laughing and rocking out. It was just really fun and magical. I think that joy and that effervescence comes out in the scene. And, yeah, I like the meta references of "I'm 17 Again. No kid ever just woke up big." "This is so Freaky." "Yeah, I'm 13 Going on 30." I like to do stuff like that because when you do it, you're like, "Is this gonna work? I don't know." Then we did it, and people seem to be responding.

You've been working steadily with Netflix since 2017's The Babysitter — what's been different about your relationship with them compared to other studios?

I enjoy that Netflix releases their movies to the world at one time because you work so hard on a movie and you want to share it with everybody. And it's just so fun when people respond to what you work so passionately upon. And just that idea that people in Asia, people in South America, people in Eastern Europe, everybody's getting to have the opportunity to turn on to what you work so passionately on is exciting. I just enjoy that. I appreciate it, and it's super fun to reach the world in a way that Netflix does. They're supportive of my creative freedom. We seem to work well together, and people are responding to the stuff. So Tally-ho, as they say.

Off that, we also know the Uglies film is coming to Netflix. Is there any update on the movie or anything you can tell us about it?

Yeah, I'm just finishing it right now with Joey King. It's really exciting -- big world creation, dystopian future. Joey's such a courageous little rebel in that movie. Chase Stokes is in that movie, Laverne Cox. It's really, really exciting. It's our answer to Hunger Games, and it's turning out really cool.

Family Switch is out on Netflix.