Baby Mama (2008) July 25, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Michael McCullers
During the past twelve months we have witnessed the rise of a subject that is rife with comic intent, but has not historically been well handled by Hollywood. The conception comedy, as it is not yet known, gained much ground after being the subject of two extremely well received films: Judd Apatow’s box office storming Knocked Up [review], and Jason Reitman’s indie-spirited Juno [review]. Probably by complete coincidence, we’re now faced by yet another duet of pregnancy-themed stories; one, a rather dire looking Heather Graham vehicle called Miss Conception; the other, Baby Mama, a light-hearted take on the difficulties of expecting from a writer and select cast members of Saturday Night Live.
Its story is one of modern concerns. Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey) has put so much effort into forwarding her career that she has ended up 37, single, and wanting a baby. Unfortunately, Kate isn’t biologically-inclined to do so, giving her a one-in-a-million shot of becoming pregnant herself. So she turns to a surrogacy service who set her up with Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler), to be her rented womb. Of course, the two have little in common, and Angie’s wilder attributes along with her trashy workless boyfriend give Kate cause for concern. Their odd relationship is put to the test when Angie is forced to move in with Kate, where it transpires that one of them may not have been completely honest about their intentions.
As incidental as it might first appear, the fact that writer and director Michael McCullers, as well as the film’s female leads, all come from a Saturday Night Live background, actually has a bearing on how the film is perceived. In the past, sketch TV-graduate movies have been wildly inconsistent. There have been both massive successes and terrible failures, so each new movie now arrives with a deserved mix of both anticipation and scepticism. On this occasion though, the SNL mark is less evident, something that actually helps the film achieve a well pitched comic balance.
If you look back over the catalogue of such films, they have a tendency to rely on their most comfortable medium: that of short, sharp gags and sketch comedy. It’s not always a bad thing: just take a look at Mike Myers’ feature endeavours like Austin Powers [review] and Wayne’s World, or some of the early Will Ferrell stuff. One of the biggest triumphs of Baby Mama however, is that it doesn’t lean on sketch-like interludes to fill out the story. It exists, rather nicely, as an even-handed attempt to tell the story of its two lead characters, without turning to a forced high concept, or needless overacting.
The cast is, as you would imagine, very comically proficient, and work hard to get the most out of McCullers script. Headliners Tina Fey and Amy Poehler take their natural roles as upstanding business woman and trashy wild child, respectively. As both friends and enemies they evoke a natural rapport that adds significantly to the film’s overall feel. Backing them up are some well cast supporting parts including Romany Malco as the wisecracking doorman, Sigourney Weaver playing a surrogate councillor with an ageless womb, Steve Martin as the hippy boss of a health food corporation (and proving that he can still be great in small doses), and the always likeable Greg Kinnear as a love interest for Fey. Only Dax Shephard gets a bum deal, playing yet another witless loser and squeezing very little out of him.
Despite the good performances, if there’s an area where the film starts to fall down it’s through the rather stereotypical characterisation. Kate is uptight and difficult because she values her career, while Angie is wild and a little bit kooky (she makes her own clothes, that’s how you know). Kate finds a guy who is the seemingly insurmountable essence of a ‘nice guy’, 
while Angie’s boyfriend is a scheming meathead. The health food director at Kate’s work is a new-age enthusiast who speaks in spiritual terms and rewards people with “5 minutes of uninterrupted eye contact”. Even though the odd couple narrative might not be a new concept, all the formulaic side characters do is to remind you how unoriginal it all is.
Putting that aside, Baby Mama is a decent feel-good comedy, with more than enough witty one-liners to see it through. Sure, it could have done with a few more big laughs, and you’ll see the end coming a mile off, but maybe that’s not completely a bad thing, as it lets you sit back and enjoy the journey. Both Fey and Poehler establish themselves as effective comic leads, which will no doubt lead to future Hollywood work - a fact not hurt by this film’s week at the US box office number one spot. But let’s just hope that they, and everyone else in Hollywood, gives the conception comedy a bit of a rest now. Or else it’s only a matter of time before we end up with another Junior.
Baby Mama is on UK general release from today.
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