By: Joe Wolf

Baby Mama is a film about a baby-crazed 37-year old named Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey), who has spent the majority of her life becoming fiscally independent and secure, but has made little time for relationships. Kate decides that she is ready for a baby and she is not willing to wait until she bumps into Mr. Right, so she attempts to get pregnant via the sperm bank. Unfortunately, due to a T-shaped uterus she has a 1 in a million chance of getting pregnant, so she decides she must explore other options.

Enter Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler). Through a company that specializes in finding surrogate mother’s for women who can not have children of there own, Kate meets Angie and for a hefty fee ($100,000), Angie agrees to carry Kate’s baby. This is the beginning of an unforgettable onscreen relationship. 

Angie’s a feisty, gum chompin, undereducated fireball of energy and she could not be more opposite of Kate. When she shacks up with Kate after her husband Carl (Dax Shepard) and her have a fight, the hilarity ensues. This is where the audience gets to see how all of those years of improv comedy at places like iO, Second City, and SNL for the last 15 years have helped Fey and Poehler ignite an onscreen chemistry that makes you laugh out loud, but also believe that they are in fact going through each one of their character’s experiences. 

One of the strongest elements of this film is the supporting cast. Barry (Steve Martin), Kate’s boss, is the owner of a Whole Foods-like company and is the king of quasi-organic lifestyle, ponytail and all. One of his best moments in the film is when he grants Kate five minutes of uninterrupted eye contact. Chaffee Bicknell (Sigourney Weaver) is the owner of the surrogate mother company that Kate uses to find Angie. She’s pushing 60 and has just had her first baby with another one on the way. Oscar (Romany Malco) is the doorman at Kate’s building. His hilarious antics, timing and delivery of his lines are enough reason alone to go see this film.

Even the development of Kate’s relationship with her love interest Rob (Greg Kinnear) keeps the interest and almost has you cheering for her hopeful success. This is another very good aspect of this film and ultimately results in an event that Kate’s been waiting for for a very long time. It is the moments that these two share together onscreen that makes you a believer in the longevity of Fey’s career as a film actress and makes you wonder why Kinnear does not do more romantic comedies.

Although at times this film is very predictable, uses writing and jokes that have been seen and heard many times before, and makes you wonder if they were trying a little too hard, it allows for what you intend on doing when you go to the movies, be entertained. Writer and Director Michael McCullers has crafted a product that will insure that your $10 investment was one that you will not regret. Baby Mama is guaranteed to make you laugh, teach you a little bit about life and relationships, and leave you smiling, even if it falters a few times along the way.