Most romantic couples--onscreen or otherwise--would kill for the type of chemistry that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler share in the gyno-centric comedy BABY MAMA, even though the women are only playing friends. Fey stars as Kate, a 37-year-old vice president at an organic foods company whose womb starts a-kickin' every time she sees a baby. Though her career has kept her from marriage and children, she has decided that it's time for her to get pregnant. But multiple tries with in vitro fertilization leave her disappointed, and Kate turns to a surrogate mother. Enter Angie (Poehler), a high-school dropout desperate for the large check that comes with carrying someone's child. Though she agrees to be Kate's surrogate, it's clear that the women disagree on everything from music to the type of food Angie should be eating. When Angie leaves her apartment after a fight with her obnoxious common-law husband (Dax Shepard, EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH), she moves into Kate's posh Philadelphia apartment, and the women spend the rest of BABY MAMA alternately battling and bonding.
Steve Martin appears in a small but enjoyable role as Kate's oily boss, and Oscar nominee Greg Kinnear gets good mileage out of playing her love interest. WEEDS star Romany Malco earns a bit more screen time--and plenty of laughs--as her over-involved doorman, but this is clearly Fey and Poehler's film. After several seasons of co-anchoring SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE's "Weekend Update" together, the pair is reunited, and it feels good--for both the talented actresses and the audience. BABY MAMA pays less attention to the serious issues of pregnancy and motherhood than its baby-driven contemporaries--JUNO, WAITRESS, and KNOCKED UP--but this is simply a comedy, and a very funny one, that succeeds on the merits of its two lead actresses and their comedic talents.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Snap Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French, Spanish
Side A: BABY MAMA
Subtitles - English (SDH), French, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Alternate Ending
Deleted Scenes
Audio Commentary: Michael McCullers - Writer/Director; Lorne Michaels - Producer; Tina Fey - Star; Amy Poehler - Star
Side B: Full Frame
Executive Producer
Jill Messick: Executive Producer, MEAN GIRLS (2004)
Director of Photography
Daryn Okada: Cinematographer
Review 1:
"BABY MAMA is a love-fest, a good-natured buddy comedy....Poehler and Fey play against stereotype with sweet, unexpected results."
Source: Los Angeles Times
04/25/2008
Review 2:
3 stars out of 4 -- "[A]musing and enjoyable....This is a charming light comedy, enhanced by the chemistry between SNL mates Tina Fey and Amy Poehler."
Source: USA Today
04/26/2008
Review 3:
"[W]hile it is hilariously funny, BABY MAMA also makes some poignant statements about the nature of romantic relationships, the desire to parent and the whole concept of nurturing....Fey and Poehler are absolutely perfect in their roles..."
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
04/25/2008
Review 4:
"[T]he small moments, especially involving Fey, are sharp....She has become a madame comedy ambassador of her sex..." -- Grade: B
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.44 05/09/2008
Review 5:
"McCuller's script is sharp and zesty, piling up sly swipes at the infertility industries that treat motherhood as just another job to be outsourced."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.52 08/01/2008
Review 6:
4 stars out of 5 -- "[Y]ou will find boundless delight in two people doing what they do best: being very, very funny."
Source: Empire
p.54 08/01/2008
Review 7:
3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he first smart, snappy 90 minutes should have the Amy Poehler fan club overrun with new members."
Source: Total Film
04/01/2009