2008 Woodie Awards
"Baby Mama" a Female Buddy-Buddy Comedy
By Frank Godinho, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 9/10/08 Section: Arts & Living
After a successful transition from Saturday Night Live to "Must-See TV Thursday," Tina Fey stars in the feature-film comedy "Baby Mama," alongside fellow Saturday Night Live actress Amy Poehler.
Fey, who often acts in supporting roles while simultaneously writing scripts (i.e. "Mean Girls," "30 Rock") does the opposite here - and it shows. The film, both written and directed by Michael McCullers, is clichéd, bland and predictable in so many places that fans of Fey (and "30 Rock") may be disappointed to see her in such dull work.
For moviegoers who decided to skip seeing this film in theaters last April due to its silly title, you now have a chance to rush out to and buy it, as "Baby Mama" is now available on DVD.
Kate (Tina Fey), a powerful businesswoman in her late 30s, feels like her biological clock is about to expire. The film outlines all you really need to know about Kate within the first five minutes of the film, from her family life to her marital status to her career, allowing for greater character development throughout the film.
At work, life couldn't be better for Kate. After her boss (legendary SNL alumnus Steve Martin) gives her a large promotion to the company's vice president, she starts feeling envious of women with different career - mother.
At this stage of the film, it's evident that Kate wants to have a baby, but we soon find out that due her "T-shaped" uterus, the likelihood of her conceiving is like winning the lottery: one in a million. Therefore, in order for her to have a biological child of her own, she's left with no choice but to find a suitable surrogate mother to carry her eggs.
With the help of a surrogate mother agency, Kate is finally introduced to Angie (Amy Poehler). Angie, a Jerry Springer-ish "trailer park trash" woman, isn't exactly the surrogate mother Kate had in mind for her baby, leaving her speechless and perturbed.
Kate, however, makes the best of it and decides to let the pregnancy take its course. Sprinkled in throughout the film are two distracting side stories that change the film from a comedy to a romantic-comedy. Both a love/hate relationship between Angie and her husband (Dax Shepard), and Kate's love interest (Greg Kinnear), take away from Fey's and Poehler's comedic chemistry.
Fey, who often acts in supporting roles while simultaneously writing scripts (i.e. "Mean Girls," "30 Rock") does the opposite here - and it shows. The film, both written and directed by Michael McCullers, is clichéd, bland and predictable in so many places that fans of Fey (and "30 Rock") may be disappointed to see her in such dull work.
For moviegoers who decided to skip seeing this film in theaters last April due to its silly title, you now have a chance to rush out to and buy it, as "Baby Mama" is now available on DVD.
Kate (Tina Fey), a powerful businesswoman in her late 30s, feels like her biological clock is about to expire. The film outlines all you really need to know about Kate within the first five minutes of the film, from her family life to her marital status to her career, allowing for greater character development throughout the film.
At work, life couldn't be better for Kate. After her boss (legendary SNL alumnus Steve Martin) gives her a large promotion to the company's vice president, she starts feeling envious of women with different career - mother.
At this stage of the film, it's evident that Kate wants to have a baby, but we soon find out that due her "T-shaped" uterus, the likelihood of her conceiving is like winning the lottery: one in a million. Therefore, in order for her to have a biological child of her own, she's left with no choice but to find a suitable surrogate mother to carry her eggs.
With the help of a surrogate mother agency, Kate is finally introduced to Angie (Amy Poehler). Angie, a Jerry Springer-ish "trailer park trash" woman, isn't exactly the surrogate mother Kate had in mind for her baby, leaving her speechless and perturbed.
Kate, however, makes the best of it and decides to let the pregnancy take its course. Sprinkled in throughout the film are two distracting side stories that change the film from a comedy to a romantic-comedy. Both a love/hate relationship between Angie and her husband (Dax Shepard), and Kate's love interest (Greg Kinnear), take away from Fey's and Poehler's comedic chemistry.
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