REVIEWS

Ken's Review: Baby Mama - Don't Be Scared Guys, It's Actually Funny

by Ken Evans
April 28, 2008

• US Release Date: April 25, 2008
• Genre: Comedy
• MPAA: Rated PG-13 (for crude and sexual humor, language and a drug reference)
• Running Time: 96 minutes
• Directed by: Michael McCullers
• on IMDb
•    7.5/10

There are some movies that just don't appeal to guys at first. Movies like Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, 13 Going On 30, and Ever After are a few examples of those types of films. I'll admit that after a few forced viewings by my wife, I can actually enjoy watching Pride and Prejudice. However, I despise 13 Going on 30 because I just don't get it. It was a film made with girl humor in mind, which we men completely don't understand. This was the exact type of film that I thought Baby Mama was going to be. Now after seeing it, I must proclaim to every man that was dreading being dragged to it by their significant other, it was actually funny and within our realm of understanding.

Kate and her surrogate mother Angie try to get along in Baby Mama.

Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey) is a single, successful business woman who has everything going for her, that is except for her desire to have a baby. With no success in finding "Mr. Right" and failed attempts through adoption and artificial insemination, she decides to try the only option left, a surrogate mother. Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler) is sent by the surrogate mother agency and turns out to be pure white trash. Kate is so desperate to have a baby that she will do anything, including finally agreeing to let Angie "put her baby inside her." Angie ends up having to move in with Kate during the pregnancy, which creates numerous hilarious situations and learning opportunities for both.

The chick flicks I listed above are ones taken out of my wife's movie library. Although her favorite movie is Braveheart, which makes me very proud, those are the films she watches over and over again. I can't even count how many times she has seen Pride and Prejudice. What all of those movies have in common are numerous themes that guys not only don't get, but feel uncomfortable watching. There are scenes where girls are dancing or singing together, embarrassing moments between a girl and guy, or a part when the earlier gossip turns out to be false and Mr. Darcy actually turns out to be amazing. These were the scenes in Baby Mama where I wasn't laughing but when I turned to my wife she was cracking up. Although there were a few parts like that, they were kept to a minimum and forgotten rather quickly.

Tina Fey's love interest, played by Greg Kinnear, adds some extra depth to Baby Mama.

Baby Mama was actually a very funny and clever film. Although I thought it might just be the female version of The Brothers Solomon, I was wrong. It was much funnier with great comedic performances from everyone involved. I'm growing to love Tina Fey more and more with everything I see her in. Amy Poehler plays that type of white trash role perfectly. What surprised me was that I had no idea that Steve Martin and Greg Kinnear were even in it, but I loved every second they were on the screen. Steve Martin plays Fey's boss and has some of the funniest scenes in the entire movie. Greg Kinnear plays Kate's love interest, which brought a depth to the film so that it didn't just rely on the story between Fey and Poehler. Dax Shepard and Sigourney Weaver were also in it and although they weren't bad, they didn't bring much to the overall experience.

I was so surprised that I liked Baby Mama that I almost couldn't believe it. I'll probably end up seeing it again after it has left the theater. Definitely a movie that just about anyone could enjoy. It did start to run a little long close to the end and it had a really cheesy courtroom scene that seemed thrown in just to tie together all the loose ends. Even so, I had a lot of fun and can easily recommend this film. Although it's going up against Forgetting Sarah Marshall, this isn't any more or less funny, it's just a different type of humor. But I would definitely suggest going to see this over Harold & Kumar 2.

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