MOVIE
REVIEW: THE BACK-UP PLAN
4/22/10
SYNOPSIS:
The Back-up Plan is a comedy that explores dating, love, marriage and family “in reverse.” After years of dating, Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) has decided waiting for the right one is taking too long. Determined to become a mother, she commits to a plan, makes a doctor’s appointment and decides to go it alone. That same day, Zoe meets Stan (Alex O’Loughlin) – a man with real possibilities. Trying to nurture a budding relationship and hide the early signs of pregnancy becomes a comedy of errors for Zoe and creates confusing signals for Stan. Anyone can fall in love, get married and have a baby but doing it backwards in hyper-drive is the real pregnancy test.
REVIEW: Some are calling this Jennifer Lopez’s comeback. She hadn't done major work in a few years. Well, the movie is cute but I wouldn't call it a comeback. It is pretty obvious that this show is all about her and she does look gorgeous as always, but the movie is lacking, predictable, and at times boring. I'm a fan of Jennifer Lopez and I wish her nothing but the best but this movie falls short. Sure it has its funny moments (and you will laugh out loud), its touching moments, and its romantic moments but it doesn't have much substance. It also has an eye popping moment that involves a childbirth and it will affect you in one way or another. It is easily the most outlandish scene in the movie. But even with all that this movie is like chewing gum; it tastes good while you're chewing but at some point you have to spit it out and it does nothing for you if you're hungry. Other than Jennifer Lopez, the major ingredient that makes this romantic comedy stand out is the fact that it revolves around a pregnant woman finding love.
Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) has only one thing on her mind; she is ready to start a family. The problem is she is missing a partner. Having not found her Mr. Right she proceeds to her backup plan which is artificial insemination. As fate would have it she then meets Stan (Alex O’Loughlin) and so the story continues and the plot thickens. I don't recall ever seeing Alex before. He reminded me of someone and I struggled to put my finger on it. You might think I'm crazy, but to me he looks like a younger and better looking Jerry Seinfeld. I think he did a good job with his role as did Jennifer. There were two big surprises for me in this movie as far as casting is concerned. If you are old enough to remember the TV show Happy Days and Howard Cunningham, Tom Bosley has a small role in this film. For those of you who remember the TV show Alice, Linda Lavin is also in this film. I hadn't seen either one of them in a very long time much less on the big screen. It was really nice to see them but it also made me feel old too. Overall, though, the storyline for this movie is typical and yet not so typical. The difference is in the main character being pregnant but the plot is still very much cookie-cutter. Director Alan Poul has done mostly TV work and this is his first major motion picture direction and it shows. This film is very close to simply being a made-for-TV special. You could take a chance at the theater but you're better off waiting for the DVD and watching it at home.
Review
By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
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