Baby Mama -A DVD Review-

This is not the funniest comedy I've ever seen. It's not by any means groundbreaking. It's not even hugely innovative or original. I guess the reason I still liked it is because Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have such incredible chemistry and together they muster enough charm and likeability that I cared about the characters and genuinely felt for them. 

Sure there are some funny moments. I chuckled to myself a few times. I laughed out loud more than once. I felt good when I was supposed to and I was sad or angry on cue as well. That doesn't exactly make for great cinema, but maybe thats enough when you just wanna watch a movie that makes you feel good. That's not an easy thing. I've seen comedies (many of which starred Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell) where I just shake my head and wonder how I ended up on a date with someone who actually thought paying twelve dollars a ticket would act as some sort of twisted foreplay. Some so-called comedies are irredeamable beyond all belief. Whether you're a man or a woman on a first date, I can't conceive of spreading legs or cheeks for most of what passes for 'Date Movies' these days.

Baby Mama might've been an exception, had I been asked by a dude to see this with him. But I wasn't. I'll get over it.

Here's the poop;

Tina Fey plays Kate; a sorta uptight VP of an organic foods company DESPERATE for a baby. She tries everything: adoption takes too long, her in-vitro clinic sends her home with a cup of sperm like it's a latte, and of course she can't conceive like a 'normal' woman so she turns to the last great hope. Enter Chaffee Bicknell, the surrogate agent, played by Sigourney Weaver in a manner I can only describe as the most fertile 60-year-old woman on the planet. Either she carries peat moss around in her uterus or her never-seen husband is twenty and powered by Monsanto. (Look it up. The vegans get it!) The elder Chaffee is poppin' 'em out like a pitching machine! She don't need her own services no matter how old she gets! Kate feels the ouch.

Chaffee hooks Kate up with Angie (Poehler), a white-trash dummy and they decide to let Angie carry Kate's fertilized eggs. 

Now, in typical comedy form Angie breaks up with her skeevy boyfriend and moves in with the prim Kate and hilarity is supposed to ensue on an Odd Couple-ian scale. Sadly such heights are never reached. 

Both women, especially Fey, are more than watchable. Each steals their individual scenes, and when they're together sparks fly! Unfortunately the real tension you might expect from polar opposites is missing and as one reviewer noted, there might've been more drama if we glimpsed some real hatred, which comes too late. 

The romantic sub-plot involving local shop owner Rob (Greg Kinnear) is too predictable, however the other supporting player Romany Malco (as Oscar the doorman) felt underused. Both are good, but Malco had potential to be a real scene stealer instead of an afterthought. Again tho, Kinnear and Malco, in fact the entire cast is fantastic and is what ultimately makes this film at least enjoyable. 

One disappointment comes from Steve Martin's cameo as Kate's hippie-dippy boss, Barry. He had a chance to really be a wild amalgam of a grassroots, granola munching profit-mongering CEO pot-head, but he played it pretty safe and left me wondering to what heights he could've taken his bizarre character. It was such a minor part for chrissake! He didn't have to assume any responsibility for the film's success! He should've gone for it! If he had I might be saying Best Supporting Oscar Nom!!! The part had potential! I'm just sayin. Oh well.

That all said, I go back to my original diagnosis that Baby Mama is a good film with a few laughs and a happy ending. It's not award winning, in fact it flies in that airspace between great and bad. It's good. It should be seen if you're in the mood and probably will be on DVD but really won't make much of a blip on the 'Hits' radar, and that's fine. I think both Poehler and Fey have many more great things coming for them. I expect a few truly funny chick-buddy-comedies before we've seen the last o' them. 

In video stores now, rent Baby Mama when you want a sweet, funny buddy flick with a big heart and great performances which overshadow the material. 

We all get in that mood sometimes, right? 

I did!