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Baby Mama

Fey and Poehler deliver, but results are inconclusive

By Matt Pais

Metromix
April 25, 2008

Critic's Rating:

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Told her uterus won't be cooperating any time soon, Kate (Tina Fey), a career woman pushing 40 and eager to be a mom, decides to let surrogate Angie (Amy Poehler) carry her child. Meanwhile, Kate deals with interference from Angie's ex (Dax Shepard) and a fruit smoothie-shop owner (Greg Kinnear). Steve Martin also stars as Kate's hippie boss.

Big question: Is "Baby Mama" as funny and sincere as "Juno," despite essentially having the reverse plot?

Catch it: Better than an extended "Saturday Night Live" episode but not hilarious or emotional enough to count as a total movie, "Baby Mama" is a comedy that remains on the right side of funny simply by not doing anything too wrong. It's a safe assortment of cute scenes like Angie struggling to swallow a huge pill, and gags about "Mommy and Me" yoga atone for the film's bloated middle and unrefined backside. Barely.

Skip it: If you're a stressed-out new parent -- or just thinking about being one -- and don't want to hear jokes about strollers with iPod adapters or kids with unconventional names like "Wingspan" and "Banjo." Here's hoping those kids thank their parents for the extra adversity.

Bottom line: "Baby Mama" accumulates a lot of lies and asks you to wait patiently for the truth to come out. Too bad the movie loses momentum at nearly every plot point as if it's unhappy to turn off the laughs in order to tell a story. Fey and Poehler are better comedians than actors, but their appealing rapport bumps the movie up from "just fine" to "good enough," even if both are good enough to do something that's more than fine.

Bonus: Angie says that organic food is just for "rich people who hate themselves." You choose which part of that you'd like to disagree with, if any.

What do you think of 'Baby Mama'? Email me: mpais@tribune.com