SYNOPSIS: Successful and single businesswoman Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey) has long put her career ahead of a personal life. Now 37, she’s finally determined to have a kid on her own. But her plan is thrown a curve ball after she discovers she has only a million-to-one chance of getting pregnant. Undaunted, the driven Kate allows South Philly working girl Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler) to become her unlikely surrogate. Simple enough…

After learning from the steely head (Sigourney Weaver) of their surrogacy center that Angie is pregnant, Kate goes into precision nesting mode: reading childcare books, baby-proofing the apartment and researching top pre-schools. But the executive’s well-organized strategy is turned upside down when her Baby Mama shows up at her doorstep with no place to live.

REVIEW: A modern day scenario generates a modern day story and it is comically portrayed by modern day comedic masters. Sounds good to me! I actually had slightly below average expectations with this film and then a cream pie was smothered into my face. The previews don’t do it justice. The poster doesn’t do it justice. This movie was a lot better than it first seemed. My “comedy-cry-meter” score for this piece was pretty high. (For those of you that are unfamiliar, I like to rate comedies based on how much I cry of laughter). I cried plenty. It is a good quality comedy including good quality one-liners and a good quality cast. It’s not as raunchy as you might imagine. It’s not like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, for example. After all, it is rated PG-13. It is also intelligent and snappy. With Tina Fey and Amy Poehler delivering, you better pay attention or you’ll miss something. There’s even a case where a simple prop initiated a roar of laughter. John Hodgman (the PC from the “I’m PC and I’m Mac” commercials) plays a fertility specialist and he has a mug in the shape of a pregnant woman’s belly. You have to see it to believe it. Cute, very cute.

The performances were mixed. Some were stronger than others. Amy Poehler plays Angie, the baby mama, and she nails it. Angie has a strong personality yet unrefined and childish . . . right up Amy’s ally. I’m a fan of Tina Fey, but she needed a little more umph with this role. She plays Kate, the mama wannabe, and seems to lack aggressiveness which I’m sure Tina can deliver. The strangest performance goes to Steve Martin as Barry, Kate’s boss and the owner of a chain of health food markets. Even though it was a small part, it is arguably Steve’s most bizarre role ever and he nails it. Dax Shepard and Romany Malco contribute nicely to the comical flow of the picture with their supporting roles. Greg Kinnear, Sigourney Weaver, and Maura Tierney, on the other hand, don’t contribute as much as you would want considering their big names. The success of this film is mostly in its story and its script, which go hand in hand with their modern tones.

This female version of Oscar and Felix, the Odd Couple, was quite entertaining. The two leading ladies worked extremely well with each other and totally stole the show. Of course you would have to expect that considering their time together on SNL. The movie is predictable but a whole lot of fun. Writer/Director Michael McCullers has done successful writing for other big comedies like the Austin Powers series and Undercover Brother. Not a bad transition to Director with this project, his directorial debut. I think there is a much, much greater chance of you liking this movie than there is of Kate getting pregnant.
 

Review By Cine Marcos 
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

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