The film is scripted and directed by Michael McCullers, whose writing credits range from AUSTIN POWERS films to...well...Jonathan Frakes' THUNDERBIRDS. It stars Tina Fey (once heralded by Herc as "MILFY").
The film should release in April. As such, keep in mind that the version being reviewed here IS NOT a final product, and could be altered before release.
Hey Harry! I just want to the first New York test screening of Tina
Fey's Baby Mama.
I was one of the first ones in the theater, so I
planted myself in front of the reserved seats in the back, knowing
Tina and Lorne would probably show up. Sure enough Tina and Amy ended
up sitting directly behind me, and Lorne was right behind them. So,
that was cool... though I must admit I was really hoping Amy would
bring her husband GOB with her. But, no luck, I didn't get to dork
out and show him my "Final Countdown" ringtone.
Anyway, onto my review.
Baby Mama is a really good comedy. But, very importantly, it's not as
good as Mean Girls, which it will inevitably be compared to (right?).
Tina Fey's writing is still smart, but this movie definitely doesn't
have the same on-the-money observational comedy about
pregnancy/motherhood/etc that Mean Girls had about popularity in high
school. I don't think it's as funny as 30 Rock either.
Anyway, it still manages to be very very funny, thanks to the writing
and a phenomenal cast. Actually, the theater was pretty much roaring
with laughter throughout the entire movie, I mean laughing LOUDLY. I
can't imagine people would be laughing that hard in a regular theater
setting when it comes out, but what do I know.
Steve Martin is amazing as Tina Fey's new agey boss who wants his new
Whole Foods-esque grocery store to be just like the sea shell he found
while running barefoot through the Toronto airport (excuse me while I
giggle to myself about Steve Martin rewarding Tina Fey with "5 minutes
of uninterupted eye contact")... I almost wish his part would have
been bigger. I wonder if there are any hilarious scenes with him on
the cutting room floor that they'll insert after reading everyones
screening reviews.
Romany Malco is also awesome as Tina's doorman. I liked him in 40
Year-Old Virgin but I never truly appreciated how funny he is and how
great his comedic timing is until I saw this movie. He has a ton of
charisma.
Amy Poehler plays the 'ghetto' surrogate. She's funny and I love her
and she has a hot bod... my only problem was the inconsistency with
her ghetto-ness. One second she's saying "bidness" and talking in
full on ebonics and the next second she sounds like classy Amy
Poehler. And she pretty much always LOOKS classy -- I think they
should have gone farther with her wardrobe and made her look trashier
for the sake of the character... but too late to change it now.
Tina Fey plays the same person she always plays, a version of herself,
single successful 30-something career woman who likes to eat... which
is fine with me, because I really like her and it works.
Her love interest is played by Greg Kinnear, which sounds weird (does
that sound weird?) but they work together, they actually have
believable chemistry, and Greg Kinnear is great, just playing and
understated and very likeable guy.
There are really funny cameos by Fred Armisen and Will Forte...
The version I saw seemed to be pretty polished. The pacing seemed
perfect to me, nothing dragged and I was never bored. All the loose
ends were tied up and it really seemed to work as a whole. The only
thing missing was the opening credits... and hopefully they change the
music, as they mostly used really boring cliche movie music.. it just
sounded like every other movie.
The plot was nice, it actually wasn't predictable at all but was still
believable (for a movie). It's definitely got heart and few moments
of cuteness without crossing over into cheesiness.
Mmm, oh yeah, Dax Shephard is also really funny (and perfectly cast)
as Amy's trashy Brooklynite boyfriend.
So, I really enjoyed Baby Mama. It's definitely an above average
comedy, though it doesn't totally live up the standards Tina Fey has
set for herself with Mean Girls and 30 Rock.
tralala
have a wonderful night
if you use this, call me Lacey please!
