Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2008
Baby Mama (film)
Buy Baby Mama (film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Baby Mama' is a 2008 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Michael McCullers in his directorial debut and starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Romany Malco, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor, with Steve Martin, and Sigourney Weaver.
Plot
Successful single businesswoman Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey) has always prioritized her career over her personal life. Now at age 37, she finally decides to have her own child, but her plans are dampened when she discovers she has a minuscule chance of becoming pregnant because of a T-shaped uterus. Also denied the chance to adopt, Kate hires an immature, obnoxious, South Philadelphia woman named Angie Ostrowski (Amy Poehler) to become her surrogate mother.
After learning from Chaffee Bicknell (Sigourney Weaver), the steely head of their surrogacy center, that Angie has become pregnant, Kate prepares for motherhood in her own typically driven fashion, reading childcare books, baby-proofing the apartment and researching top pre-schools. However, the executive's well-organized strategy is upended when Angie shows up at her door, homeless. Their conflicting personalities put them at odds as Kate learns first-hand about balancing motherhood and career and also dates the owner of a local blended-juice cafe, Rob Ackerman (Greg Kinnear).
Unknown to Kate, Angie's in-vitro fertilization procedure had failed and she is feigning the pregnancy, hoping to ultimately run off with her payment. Eventually, she starts to regret lying about being pregnant, but she continually puts off confessing. When she gets an ultrasound, she discovers she is indeed pregnant. Realizing the baby is her ownwith her common-law husband Carl (Dax Shepard), from whom she is separatedAngie is forced to confess at Kate's baby shower. When Kate explains to Angie that the pregnancy test was supposed to be taken two weeks after the procedure, and that the baby could still belong to her, a wedge is driven between the two women.
A court hearing determines that the baby is Angie's, and Angie impassionedly apologizes to Kate. As the women meet face-to-face after the proceedings, Angie's water breaks and Kate rushes her to the hospital, then passes out during the birth. As she wakes up, the doctor supervising Angie's pregnancy tells Kate that she's two months pregnant (the result of her relationship with Rob). After receiving the news, she visits Angie, who is holding her new baby daughter Stef, named for Gwen Stefani. Kate forgives Angie and the two become best friends, ultimately changing each other for the better.
Angie and Kate raise their children and are in a sister-like relationship one year later at Stef's first-birthday party. It is revealed that Kate and Rob are parents of a baby daughter and are engaged. Although he does not reunite with Angie, Carl stays close to his daughter and takes parenting classes. The final scene shows Angie and Kate sitting in front of a television set with their children, watching 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons.
Cast
* Tina Fey as Katherine "Kate" Holbrook - Mother
* Amy Poehler as Angela "Angie" Ostrowski - Surrogate mother
* Greg Kinnear as Rob Ackerman - SuperFruity cafe owner
* Dax Shepard as Carl Loomis - Angie's 'Common Law' husband
* Sigourney Weaver as Chaffee Bicknell - Surrogate agent
* Steve Martin as Barry Waterman - Kate's boss - Round Earth Organic Market
* Romany Malco as Oscar Priyan - Doorman
* Maura Tierney as Caroline - Kate's sister
* Holland Taylor as Rose Holbrook - Kate's mother
* Stephen Mailer as Dan
* Siobhan Fallon Hogan as The Birthing Teacher
* Kevin Collins as Rick - Round Earth employee
* Will Forte as Scott - Kate's former boyfriend
* Denis O'Hare as Dr. Manheim
* Fred Armisen as The Stroller Salesman
* James Rebhorn as Judge
* John Hodgman as Fertility Specialist
* Thomas McCarthy as Kate's Date
* Jason Mantzoukas as Jonothan - Surrogate father
* Dave Finkel as Gay Couple
* Brian Stack as Dave
Reception
Critical reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 166 reviews, with an average rating of 6.20/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "'Baby Mama' is a lightweight, predictable comedy that ekes by on the strength of its performers." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Box office
In its opening weekend, 'Baby Mama' grossed $17,407,110 in 2,543 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1 at the box office and averaging $6,845 per theater. 'Baby Mama' eventually grossed a total of $64,163,648. Its production budget was $30 million.Home media
'Baby Mama' was released on September 9, 2008 on both DVD and Blu-ray. Extras included commentary with writer/director Michael McCullers and cast members Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, 'From Conception to Delivery: The Making of Baby Mama' featurette, an alternate ending, deleted scenes, and 'Saturday Night Live': Legacy of Laughter.References
Buy Baby Mama (film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 2008