Starring: Kevin Collins, Stephen Mailer, James Rebhorn, Holland Taylor, Maura Tierney Directed by: Michael McCullers Binding: DVD Published: 2008-09-09
Comedic geniuses Tina Fey (30 Rock, Saturday Night Live) and Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live) team up to celebrate a modern twist on motherhood! Kate (Fey) is a single, successful career woman who wants something more: a baby. But she gets more than she bargained for when she hires Angie (Poehler), a free spirit from South Philly, to be her surrogate in a hysterical mama match-up. From birth class to baby-proofing, they're the ultimate odd couple that critics are calling "the best female comedy duo since Lucy and Ethel" (Claudia Puig, USA Today). With hilarious performances from an all-star cast featuring Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, and Sigourney Weaver, Baby Mama is as full of laughs as it is heart!
Laughter and hearty guffaws abound in this comical look at 37-year-old career woman Kate Holbrook's (30 Rock's Tina Fey) desperate attempts to have a baby. Never mind that she's not married and has never been involved in a serious relationship; Kate wants a baby and will stop at virtually nothing to get one. After failed attempts at broaching the concept of conception with first dates and trying artificial insemination with the help of a sperm bank, Kate finds out that her t-shaped uterus leaves her with only a one in a million chance of conceiving a child. Adoption doesn't work out and she's left with the distasteful option of hiring a surrogate mother. Enter Chaffee Bicknell's (Sigourney Weaver) surrogate service and her recommendation of the working-class Angie Ostrowiski (Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler) who, with her common-law husband Carl (Dax Shepard), is just desperate enough to take on the job in order to make some money, and the stage is set for baby making. As fate would have it, Angie and Carl break up just after Angie announces she's pregnant and Angie ends up moving in with Kate. Unfortunately, the two are completely incompatible and what ensues is a hysterical struggle to coexist while clashing over everything from proper nutrition to stroller selection, hair dye, and delivery options. Further complicating matters is Kate's budding relationship with ex-lawyer and juice-store owner Rob (Greg Kinnear), who just happens to be morally opposed to the whole concept of surrogate parenting. Finally, there's the question of just how fully Angie embraces the virtue of honesty. It's the juxtaposition of opposing viewpoints--so boldly stated, humorously set, and blatantly exploited--that makes this witty comedy so darn funny. Expect graphic references, raunchy humor, and a whole lot of laughter. --Tami Horiuchi
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Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
The Funny Lady:
My daughter was home from college, celebrating her birthday over the holidays. She asked me to pick up "Baby Mama" for the party. I probably wouldn't have rented the movie otherwise. Although I decided not to crash a party of giggling girls, I watched the film before I had to return it. I'm glad I did. At first, I wanted to roll my eyes in disdain with the low-brow humor like Angie Ostrowiski crouching in a sink to relieve herself. But eventually, I found myself laughing out loud. Saturday Night Live's... more info
All in all, a pretty decent movie:
It is a bit of a commentary on how few good comedies there have been in the past couple of years that this is, bizarrely, one of the best comedies of 2008. I'm tempted to chase a rabbit and ask precisely why Hollywood has gotten so bad at producing good comedies (though I suspect it has something to do with so many emulating the terrible comedies of the Apatow combine), but I'll instead say that while this is not at all a bad movie, it shouldn't have qualified as one of the best comedies of the year, though... more info
Witty and entertaining:
If you are a fan of Tina Fey and/or Amy Poehler, you will enjoy this movie. Steve Martin also appears in the movie as Tina Fey's character's boss. It's a fun show and I thought it was great. It does have quite a few sexual references, so if that bothers you just be aware of that. That's the only possible downside I could think of.
Fey and Poehler Terrific:
I would describe "Baby Mama" as a light-hearted comedy as opposed to a lightweight one. The difference between the former and the latter is that the script is intelligently written but it's not going to break any comedic ground. The main reason to see the film is the impeccable chemistry between stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. I think one print reviewer compared them to a latter day Lucy and Ethel. Pretty sad when you have to go back over fifty years for an analogy. Sorry, Laverne and Shirley. As a lifelong... more info
