Baby Mama | Christian Toto saw, Comedy | ENTERTAINMENT
Baby Mama
April/24/08 10:26 PM Filed in: Christian Toto
saw | Comedy
Fey stars as Kate, a driven executive who spent her youth forgoing relationships for the sake of her career. Now, at 37, she wants a baby. Badly. But her gynecologist doesn't like the look of her uterus, not one bit.
So Kate seeks out a surrogate specialist (Sigourney Weaver, never better) to help her start a family.
The specialist leads Kate to Angie (Poehler), a foul-mouthed misfit with a common-law husband (Dax Shepard) who looks as if he couldn't take care of a goldfish, let alone a pregnant woman. They all agree that Angie will carry Kate's baby, and Kate in turn will write the vulgar couple a very large check.
But Angie quickly sheds her no-good beau and starts living with Kate. The two have nothing in common, which leads to some humorous clashes hinted at in the film's trailer (insert link to trailer here: ). But each can learn a thing or two from one another - if they don't kill each other first.
There's precious little in "Baby Mama" we haven't seen before, but writer/director Michaal McCullers makes sure nearly every scene offers a fresh comic spin on the familiar material.
The women bond during a night out on the town, a scene we've witnessed countless times before. But Fey's inspired dance moves give the sequence a jolt. The bespectacled comic used to be known more for her writing than her acting chops, but working on NBC's "30 Rock" clearly sharpened her physical skills.
Grand support flows from all directions, particularly via Steve Martin's turn as Kate's zen-master boss. A pony-tailed Martin rewards employees with treats like five uninterrupted minutes of eye contact with their boss. Who else could pull off such absurdity with a straight face? Let's hope Martin takes on more supporting characters rather than retreating to tired franchises like "The Pink Panther" and "Cheaper by the Dozen."
Shepard is equally strong as Angie's emotional anchor, proving you can play a dumb hayseed without gnawing the scenery. Romany Malco swipes the few scenes left as Kate's affable doorman, and Greg Kinnear exudes sex appeal as Rob, Kate's love interest.
It helps that Fey makes such an endearing dance partner. The two end one of their dates on a lustful note, with Kate proclaiming, "I'm 37 … I know how this works" while dragging Rob toward his apartment for a rendezvous.
A few gags could have been snipped, like a birthing instructor with a speech impediment and Angie's endless craving for junk food. And the film lacks that one signature scene that audiences will be talking about later in the lobby, like the infamous hair gel moment in "There's Something About Mary" or "Planes, Trains and Automobiles'" pillow sequence.
"Baby Mama" serves up smart, grounded comedy delivered by two leading ladies worthy of big screen careers.
"Baby Mama"
Universal Pictures
Three Donne mandalas out of five
Web site: www.babymamamovie.net
— Christian Toto
