Baby Mama Review

"Baby Mama" reviews

Movie

Baby Mama

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-08-26 20:41:21

Rating

3/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

A warm and engaging comedy you are guaranteed to fall in love with thanks to the inspired odd coupling of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. These Baby Mamas are red hot.

Story

Baby Mama delivers the laughs non-stop. The story focuses on 37-year-old single business executive Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey), who suddenly finds herself with strong maternal yearnings. But she is told she has only a million in one chance to conceive, disheartening news that sends her straight to a surrogacy agency whose pretentious owner (Sigourney Weaver) hooks her up with Angie (Amy Poehler), a low-rent working girl with a loser husband (Dax Shepard) who has decided she should become a surrogate as part of a get rich quick scheme. When Kate learns the Angie is indeed pregnant, she starts preparing for the blessed arrival. But, much to her chagrin, what she doesn't is expect is for Angie to land on her doorstep saying she has nowhere else to go. This sets up a female version of The Odd Couple as Angie's trailer trash lifestyle clashes repeatedly with Kate's ordered existence. Despite the differences, the unlikely pair learn to accept each other and strike up a tentative friendship all in the name of baby-to-be.

Acting

Considering the fact that Fey and Poehler worked together on Saturday Night Live and developed unique comic timing as anchors of "Weekend Update," the chemistry they exhibit here in their first on-screen teaming should not come as a surprise. They are absolutely hilarious together as the screen's latest--and greatest--Odd Couple (OK, next to the originals Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon). Fey, in particular, has a nice Mary Tyler Moore quality to her, grounding her comedy in reality and creating an extremely likeable presence either on the big screen or small as she proves weekly in 30 Rock. Surrounding the two leads is a swell cast of comic vets led by Weaver, a riot as the 50-something baby-obsessed surrogate agency head who likes to remind her clients that she is still fertile. Offering nifty support on the male side are Greg Kinnear as a nice lawyer-turned-juice bar owner Kate develops an attraction to; Romany Malco as the apartment doorman who likes to commiserate with the tenants; and Shepard as Poehler's n'er do well common law husband. Steve Martin also shows up for an amusing turn as Kate's boss--a silver hair pony tailed new age owner of a chain of organic food markets.

Direction

For what is essentially a chick flick, it's a bit surprising to learn it was written and directed by a man, Michael McCullers, who acquits himself nicely in his feature debut behind the camera. Some of that may be due to the fact he, too, is a SNL writing alum and speaks the same kind of improvisational language as his stars. As co-screenwriter of the Austin Powers films with another SNL grad Mike Myers, McCullers clearly knows a thing or two about screen comedy. His experience shows in his effective and easy-going work on Baby Mama, which despite constant contemporary references, feels in some way like a throwback to the more genteel movie comedies of the '50s and '60--right down to the peppy musical score and bright technicolored look of the film. Key for making his vision work is in casting. When you've got pros like these working for you, what could possibly go wrong?

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 3 stars.

Copyright © CinemaSource 2008.

Movie

Baby Mama

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-07-23 12:00:33

Provider

MRIB

Review

Saturday Night Live stars hit it off on the big screen with a surrogate mum comedy.

Kate (Tina Frey) is the newly promoted VP at Organic Market chain, Round Earth. At thirty-seven her life as a successful, driven business woman has given her a comfortable, ordered life lacking, in her eyes, just one thing - a baby.

After numerous medics give her the thumbs down she elects to visit a surrogacy agency run by the very fertile Chaffee Bicknell (Sigourney Weaver). She's hooked up with the "carefully vetted" Angie (Amy Poehler) as a potential surrogate. Angie arrives at Kate's with her ADD boyfriend, Carl and after seeing Kate's 'aura' agrees to be her surrogate!

All seems well as Angie and Carl return to their hometown of Dreery (via Hicksville!). However, the next thing Kate knows is Angie's on her doorstep having ditched Carl and is now moving in to disrupt Kate's life in ways she never thought possible.

With a hippie guru boss (Steve Martin) asking her to take on a massive project at work; the last thing she needs is childlike Angie becoming a handful at home.

Like Knocked Up and Juno, Baby Mama find laughter around the delicate subject of pregnancy and broken families. Fey has already shown considerable writing and performing talent on her 30 Rock TV show and Lindsay Lohan break out hit Mean Girls and this once again confirms her considerable talents.

But it's not all about Fey. Arrested Development's Poehler is a blast as the girl way out of her depth, while Steve Martin makes a welcome return to physical comedy.

Whilst it's not breaking any boundaries in the comedy canon Baby Mama treats a modern issue with some respect and doesn't ignore the fact that bringing up children is a whole world of chaos. Especially when Mum's (like Maura Tierney as Kate's sister) have to conduct the 'Is it chocolate or poop?' test!

Copyright © MRIB 2008.