“Baby Mama” is an odd couple comedy starring two of Saturday Night Live’s former co-stars - and their both women. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler prove they are ready for the comic big leagues with this reinterpretation of the buddy film. Fey is an uptight career woman who wants a baby but is unable to conceive, while Poehler is a white-trash woman in an unstable relationship willing to be her surrogate. While both actresses play their characters to the extremes for laughs, they never go so far as to lose believability. The women find a way to connect and eventually become the support each lady needs to flourish.
The first time director and writer of the film, Michael McCullers, proves capable of finding laughs without losing his characters‘ credibility. Fey as Kate and Poehler as Angie perform roles they are familiar with - Fey capitalizing on her ultra-organized, control freak from TV’s “30 Rock” while Poehler recreates one of her characters from multiple SNL skits. Both women manage to bring heart to these roles, finding ways to grow their characters within the space of an hour and a half movie. The supporting cast put in memorable performances to fill-out the rest of the film, from Steve Martin’s new age business guru to Sigourney Weaver’s unnaturally fertile, surrogate liaison. It’s been too long since Martin’s created a kooky character that is funny the way he was at the beginning of his career.
There is also a legitimate romantic angle to the story. Once Fey decides to go through with the surrogacy, she finds a man, Rob (Greg Kinnear; “Little Miss Sunshine”), she’s actually interested in. His philosophy of life is much more laid back than hers, but will he be supportive of the surrogacy? There are plenty of laugh out loud moments, especially after Angie ends up on Kate’s doorstep and temporarily takes up residence with her. Even Kate’s doorman (Romany Malco; “The 40-Year Old Virgin”) gets in on the emotional rollercoaster, when he learns there may be more to this arrangement than Angie is letting on. With interesting plot twists, stellar comedic performances, and jokes that don’t stop coming - “Baby Mama” proves female comedians can carry a film just as capably as their male counterparts.
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language and a drug reference.
