Theatrical Review of Baby Mama

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It´s kind of sad, honestly, how much I was looking forward to "Baby Mama." Oh, I knew it would be a low-brow comedy, but with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and a cast of enjoyable actors, it couldn´t be any worse than the Judd Apatow productions from last summer. Besides, I personally find Fey to be a top notch comedian capable to rescuing just about any material from the gutter. Maybe my expectations were just too high. It´s not that "Baby Mama" isn´t funny-it is. It´s not that the story isn´t grounded in reality-it is. The narrative takes one turn too many, opting to introduce a character for no reason other than to give Fey´s Kate Holbrook a romantic interest. (Yeah, I know he has one other purpose, but that would be a spoiler.)

Desperate to get pregnant and with a "bad" T-shaped uterus, Holbrook decides to go the surrogacy route. Enter Angie Ostrowiski (Poehler) and her common law husband Carl (Dax Shepard). She´s willing to carry the baby…news which excites Kate to no end. But Angie doesn´t exactly share the same nutritional and familial values as Kate, leading to a clashing of personalities once the surrogate moves in with her "employer." Hijinks ensue, showcasing their vastly different lives

"Baby Mama" can´t be as cheeky or flip as it really wants to be regarding a single woman trying to have a child. Nor can it be as nauseatingly cute as baby movies tend to be, with every character gushing over the prospective little tyke. So it sits somewhere in the middle, unable to unleash the full extent of the comedy the subject deserves. It almost feels as though what we´re seeing is the PG version of the film, something designed for a mass audience in advance of a racer, naughtier cut later on. And residing in the netherworld, as it were, is the chief problem in the film. I´m not advocating this film go the route of either "Knocked Up" or "Superbad." Those were wholly disposable pieces of male chauvinism. What they got right-and "Baby Mama" got wrong-is throwing caution to the wind and reaching for a specific tone.

Fey is almost the straight man to Poehler, helping to set up the jokes and taking the fall more than once, though never showcasing her zany brand of humor we see in "30 Rock" or even in her stint on "Saturday Night Live." Very few cast members from recent seasons of that sketch comedy show have made the successful transition to films. Why? Whereas each skit is three or four minutes and they´re into the next character, a feature length film runs considerably longer, requiring a greater commitment to the development of a particular character. Fey, I know, is more than up to the task, yet the script isn´t. It doesn´t give her anything of value to work with. Steve Martin, as her New Age boss, plays his role to the hilt. Poehler, while going overboard in her characterization of white trash, generates laughs. Doorman Oscar gets a few zingers in throughout the film. But Fey? She kind of stands around letting the movie envelop her rather than engaging it.

Again, it´s not her fault per se. Director/writer Michael McCullers is the mastermind here. He is quite capable of writing funny, strong and independent supporting female roles. Just look at Sigourney Weaver as a surrogacy center honcho. In three or four scenes, she captivates our attention by being abrasive, yet oddly warm and maternal. Is it a matter of having to work with the Kate character for the entire length of the film as opposed to a handful of scenes McCullers can´t deal with? Angie is the victim of the same sort of issue, though Poehler exacerbates the problem with a campy performance with no place in the reality of the production. Right after Kate has baby latches installed in the bathroom, Angie wakes up and needs to go. When she can´t get into the toilet, she squats in the sink, making a face toward Kate which reminded me of Reese Witherspoon toward Ryan Phillippe in "Cruel Intentions." (The car scene, in case anyone needed it spelled out.) She´s a caricature, not a real human being.

Don´t get me wrong, "Baby Mama" does have its comedic moments. Most of the time, whatever Poehler is doing can be considered humorous by someone´s standards. But when the funniest character in the film is a supporting one with a couple of scenes (Steve Martin in this case), something has undoubtedly gone wrong. He insists on rewarding Kate with five minutes of uninterrupted eye contact. He and a recipient touch foreheads in order to transfer his gift for success. Sitting Indian style on a conference table, he insists Kate join him…despite the fact she´s in a skirt. The Barry character ends up being the funniest person on screen because of his outlandishness. He has the same type of comedy style as Fey: unobtrusive, smart and droll. Martin just happens to have the better lines.

The ending is a cop out, though, at least, the entire movie works toward that point. After all, certain things have to happen in a story where the main character wants to have a child. Namely, she has to have a kid. If this were a black comedy, Kate might have been childless at the end, but "Baby Mama" is a mass appeal project. So it comes as no shock she does have a baby as the end credits roll. And really, the method by which she has the bundle of joy should be obvious the moment is happens. In retrospect, it is. Yet as we´re wrapped up in the proceedings, it´s not. The three or four words fly right past our heads without drawing attention to themselves. Whatever other problems the script might have, it never dwells too long on any one issue or scene, moving at a brisk enough pace to keep us entertained and engaged.

In the end result, "Baby Mama" is stuck in a netherworld of movie comedies. It´s not offensive or crude enough to be memorable or cute and overly loving to be endearing. Instead, it sits there, hoping to generate interest based on its stars. To a certain extent, it does. But not in the way we want it to. "Baby Mama" rates a 5 out of 10.

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