There are a handful of solid laughs, but there are more than a few duds in the mix. One suspects that had Tina Fey penned the film herself, it wouldn't have been half as conventional and plodding.
Baby Mama (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:153
Fresh:96
Rotten:57
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: Baby Mama is a lightweight, predictable comedy that ekes by on the strength of its performers.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for crude and sexual humor, language and a drug reference.
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Apr 25, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $60,269,340
Synopsis: Most romantic couples--onscreen or otherwise--would kill for the type of chemistry that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler share in the gyno-centric comedy BABY MAMA, even though the women are only playing... Most romantic couples--onscreen or otherwise--would kill for the type of chemistry that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler share in the gyno-centric comedy BABY MAMA, even though the women are only playing friends. Fey stars as Kate, a 37-year-old vice president at an organic foods company whose womb starts a-kickin' every time she sees a baby. Though her career has kept her from marriage and children, she has decided that it's time for her to get pregnant. But multiple tries with in vitro fertilization leave her disappointed, and Kate turns to a surrogate mother. Enter Angie (Poehler), a high-school dropout desperate for the large check that comes with carrying someone's child. Though she agrees to be Kate's surrogate, it's clear that the women disagree on everything from music to the type of food Angie should be eating. When Angie leaves her apartment after a fight with her obnoxious common-law husband (Dax Shepard, EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH), she moves into Kate's posh Philadelphia apartment, and the women spend the rest of BABY MAMA alternately battling and bonding. Steve Martin appears in a small but enjoyable role as Kate's oily boss, and Oscar nominee Greg Kinnear gets good mileage out of playing her love interest. WEEDS star Romany Malco earns a bit more screen time--and plenty of laughs--as her over-involved doorman, but this is clearly Fey and Poehler's film. After several seasons of co-anchoring SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE's "Weekend Update" together, the pair is reunited, and it feels good--for both the talented actresses and the audience. BABY MAMA pays less attention to the serious issues of pregnancy and motherhood than its baby-driven contemporaries--JUNO, WAITRESS, and KNOCKED UP--but this is simply a comedy, and a very funny one, that succeeds on the merits of its two lead actresses and their comedic talents. [More]
Starring: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard
Starring: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Romany Malco, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin
Director: Michael McCullers
Director: Michael McCullers
Screenwriter: Michael McCullers
Producer: Lorne Michaels, John Goldwyn
Composer: Jeff Richmond
Studio: Universal Pictures
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Release:
Sep 9, 2008
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Snap Case
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
- Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French, Spanish
- Side A: BABY MAMA
- Subtitles - English (SDH), French, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Alternate Ending
- Deleted Scenes
- Audio Commentary: Michael McCullers - Writer/Director; Lorne Michaels - Producer; Tina Fey - Star; Amy Poehler - Star
- Side B: Full Frame
Reviews for Baby Mama
It's a perfectly bred combination of razor-sharp satire and female buddy comedy.
There are a couple of minor surprises and enough laughs and truisms floating around the supporting cast to make this an easy comedy to watch.
Baby Mama works best when it's centered on the Odd Couple chemistry of Poehler and Fey.
A refreshing change of pace from the frat boy fodder and standard romantic comedies that Hollywood usually offers up.
The material stays conventional and superficial, and writer-director Michael McCullers has a flair for cutting scenes before they plunge toward too-easy laughs. Yet it's the chemistry between the stars that makes the film stand out in a drab spring.
Audiences alive to the modest charms of its take on female friendship will be rewarded with at least a few quiet chuckles.
Paper-thin comedy - in which Tina Fey's OCD career woman hires Amy Poehler's ADD surrogate mother - is worth seeing only for its seriously talented comedic leads.
What may be the first real outsourcing comedy, Baby Mama is like a pacifier: floppy, nourishment-free and may even keep your teeth from growing in straight.
Just like it is in the world of SNL, the choice gets made time and again to aim not for the high road but for the great, big, fat, juicy, unchallenging, uncontroversial middle ground, where everybody’s laughing but nothing is all that funny.
The humor outweighs the holes in the story, Fey and Poehler look to be a comedy team built to last -- let's hope so -- and those who find Judd Apatow's comedies lacking in decent female roles have found their film.
Even on its own sorry terms, Baby Mama is ludicrous, falling back on toilet humor because it has nothing else to offer.
As much as I liked Baby Mama, I was very disappointed that, once again, the funniest scenes from a film are spoiled in the trailer.
A comedy boasting fetching performances by Saturday Night Live stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
There's nothing terribly wrong with Baby Mama but it's probably better suited for viewing on television, where many of the participants cut their teeth. This is small screen stuff masquerading as something bigger.
Had Fey written the script, would the ending have been such a cop-out?
Latest News for Baby Mama
January 07, 2009:
People's Choice Awards Winners Announced
The 35th annual People's Choice Awards were handed out on January 7, 2009. A complete list of film nominees, with winners in bold, follows below. More...
September 03, 2008:
Austin Powers screen mastermind Michael McCullers is the guy behind this sorta same-sex parenting satire, as SNL's Tina Fey and Amy Poehler do an extreme odd couple for laughs duet, ripping into the burgeoning baby consumer industry. ![]()
More...
May 08, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Can Speed Racer Defeat Iron Man?
Fast cars and comedy stars make their way into North American multiplexes on Friday hoping to shake things up after Iron Man's sheer dominance of the box office over the past week. More...
May 01, 2008:
Box Office Preview: Iron Man Launches Summer Movie Season
A hero flies into North American multiplexes aiming to kickstart what should be an explosive summer movie season. Paramount's Iron Man is first up to bat this year and is ready... More...
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