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‘Baby Mama’ delivers
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Story
Successful “Saturday Night Live” alumni might have a new cohort hanging about their midst. Tina Fey establishes herself on the silver screen with the freshly-released “Baby Mama.”
Do not get the wrong idea about the pregnancy gig present in “Baby Mama” – it does not follow too many of the conventions of the other recent baby movies like “Juno” and “Knocked-up.”
A considerably softer gravitas exists in “Baby Mama” – as compared to “Juno” – and is a few degrees more witty than “Knocked-up.”
Fey is known most recently for her work on NBC’s popular sitcom “30 Rock.” She was also a “Saturday Night Live” writer (as well as a cast member) for eight years, from 1997 to 2005.
Her co-star in “Baby Mama,” Amy Poehler, is also tied to the SNL family.
The film focuses on Kate Holbrook, a successful business woman in her late 30s. Her life is seemingly in perfect order, with a great job and an upscale apartment. She effectively represents what so many other female characters since the 1990s have represented as a strong female character. However, there is one significant difference – Kate wants a baby.
She so strongly desires a baby that she was willing to go through multiple procedures in order to facilitate conception.
When failure after failure occurs, Kate is forced into the arms of Sigourney Weaver’s character, Chaffee Bicknell, who works for a surrogacy center.
It is here that Poehler’s character is brought into the story.
Angie Ostrowiski (Poehler) is an unintelligent, socially awkward, yet somehow loveable 30-something who is elected to be the surrogate for Kate.
The two characters are at extreme ends of the conventional personality spectrum.
Kate is a more rigid, rule-following, straight-edged kind of woman. Angie is something entirely different. She is the medium through which most of the film’s comedy is played.
She has no trouble blurting out rude comments or using a sink for a toilet. It comes as no surprise that Angie shows up on Kate’s doorstep looking for a new place to live.
The humor revolves around the two odd characters.
Fey and Poehler perform well with each other and wouldn’t be able to pull it all off on their own.
“Baby Mama” roles out multiple stars for support, including Steve Martin, who plays Kate’s campy, over-reaching boss Barry. Greg Kinnear also plays a significant role in the movie as the potential love interest for Kate.
His character, Rob, is a fruit-smoothy-selling entrepreneur who should have had a bigger role. Weaver’s character is probably the strongest of the three.
What makes “Baby Mama” ultimately worthwhile is the buddy humor which is played out so well by Fey and Poehler.
Albeit at times complacent in its inventiveness, the movie has the occasional scene which is sure to make anyone laugh.
There is something oddly refreshing about having women participate in the typically male-dominated sub-genre of gross-out humor.
BOB BEERS
Culture Writer
