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BABY MOMA
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BABY MOMA
Movie Review
Directed by Michael McCuller
Starring - Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
Review by Eli Manning
SYNOPSIS:
A successful, single businesswoman who dreams of having a baby discovers she is infertile and hires a working class woman to be her unlikely surrogate.
REVIEW:
First time director Michael McCuller certainly knows a thing about comedy as he is most known for collaborating with Mike Myers on writing the Austin Powers films. In Baby Moma he picked his former Saturday Night Live co-workers Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to star in his first effort behind the camera. But perhaps Tina Fey could of taken a stab at the screenplay too.
Tina Fey is a brilliant writer. Her writing on the 30 Rock TV show and sketches on Saturday Night Live are some of the best comedy writing on television in the last 10 years. Her writing is comedy with layers of life and social commentary. So it makes you laugh and think at the same time.
In Baby Moma she is solely the lead actor which is like having Steven Spielberg be your lead actor without him directing. And it makes you wonder why the director didn't let her write a new draft of this story. If you have a star on your team, let them be the star in what they do best. Fey is in the wrong position in this film and playing Tight End when she really should be the Quarterback.
Baby Moma is an okay film as it borders on mediocre throughout. This is one of those films that's best jokes were in the trailer. And the situation these days is that most people watch the trailer before they see the film. So those jokes in the trailer and not funny when you see them in the film.
Tiny Fey and Amy Poehler showed great chemistry when they co-hosted the Weekend Update segments on Saturday Night Live and it was an easy choice to have them team up in a film. But this 100 minute film really has more dull moments than funny/exciting moments and Fey/Poehler seem to be fit for television and not motion pictures as actors.
The film's scene stealer is Steve Martin who plays Tina Fey's ultra hippy but very capitalistic boss and is definitely the best part of the film. You keep wanting him to come back and wished that he could be more a part of the main plot.
The plot has some twists to keep you interested throughout. But the audience is watching this film because it's a comedy and it's suppose to make you laugh and it's only really funny when Steve Martin's character appears. The main plot suffers because you really don't care about the result at all. The writing and directing is too on the nose and borders on the manipulative to force you to actually care.
This is a plot that raises a lot of questions comedy or not. A woman paying $100,000 for a surrogate mother so she can have a baby. It tells you that only a rich person can do this and what about the many kids who are without parents and are craving for someone to adopt them. I don't have a problem with a rich person doing this, but these issues should be brought it.
Which takes me back to Tina Feý's writing style. She adds issues in her comedy and it makes you wonder why she signed on to a very literal comedy script.What you see in the trailer is what you get. So if you liked the trailer, then go see the film. But if you were looking for more, then stay away as you won't be missing much. A forgettable film that will never be talked about again after it finishes its two week cinema run.
Not the worst comedy ever made but definitely not close to being the best comedy.
2 stars out of 4
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