Rating: PG-13
Starring:
Amy Poehler as Angie Ostrowiski
Tina Fey as Kate Holbrook
Greg Kinnear as Rob Ackerman
Dax Shepard as Carl Loomis
Romany Malco as Oscar
Sigourney Weaver as Chaffee Bicknell
Steve Martin as Barry
Maura Tierney as Caroline
Stephen Mailer as Dan
Holland Taylor as Rose Holbrook
James Rebhorn as Judge
Denis O’Hare as Dr. Manheim
Kevin Collins as Architect / Rick
Will Forte as Scott
Special Features:
Alternate Ending
Deleted Scenes
Saturday Night Live: Legacy of Laughter, Brought to You by Volkswagen
From Conception to Delivery: The Making of Baby Mama
And More!
Other Info:
Widescreen (1.78:1) and Full Screen (1.33:1)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Spanish and French Languages
Spanish and French Subtitles
Running Time: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the official synopsis of the film:
“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.”
“Baby Mama” is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language and a drug reference.
Mini-Review:
I wasn’t sure what to expect with “Baby Mama.” I’ve had bad luck recently watching movies by “Saturday Night Live” alumni. On top of that, the subject matter didn’t look all that appealing. Give me explosions and gunfights over comedies about surrogate mothers any day. However, much to my surprise, I ended up enjoying the movie. It’s definitely a chick flick and women are going to enjoy it a lot more than men, but any guy that has had to deal with childbirth or a woman with a ticking biological clock can appreciate the humor in this film.
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey make a great comedy team. They’re kind of like a modern Laverne and Shirley or a female “Odd Couple.” Tina is straight laced, particular, and organized. Amy is ditzy, irresponsible, and white trash. The two naturally make great comedy together. Whether it’s fighting over gum under the coffee table, fighting over a car’s automatic locks, or singing “American Idol” karaoke together, there’s a lot to laugh at when they’re on screen. And you get a distinct sense that their improvising in scenes is taking the script to the next level. They work well together. Their jokes about trendy baby names (‘Wingspan’!?), outfits in video games (‘My avatar is dressed like a whore.’), and painkillers in childbirth are memorable, too.
“Baby Mama” has a fantastic supporting cast. Steve Martin is Barry, Fey’s spacey, ego driven boss. His scenes with her are so trippy you have to wonder how they kept straight faces while filming them. Sigourney Weaver is also fun as Chaffee Bicknell, the baby broker for Poehler’s character. She’s the butt of many of the old age jokes, but her poise and composure in the scenes makes it all the funnier. Dax Shepard revels in playing Carl Loomis, Poehler’s white trash common law husband. He makes Carl slimy, but with just a hint of redeeming quality so that he’s not entirely the villain. Finally, Greg Kinnear makes a decent love interest as Rob Ackerman, Fey’s boyfriend.
Women will thoroughly enjoy “Baby Mama.” And it’s entertaining enough that most men will not want to stab their eyes out if they’re forced to watch it. Fans of Tina Fey will definitely want to add this one to their collections.
You’ll find your standard offering of bonus features included on this DVD. There are the usual deleted scenes, ‘making of’ featurettes, commentary, and other goodies. Most notable is an alternate ending where Fey’s character is approved for adoption on top of everything else that happens. I can’t say much more without discussing spoilers, but having seen the final ending, I think I understand why this version was dropped.
