- Former "Saturday Night Live" "Weekend Update" co-anchors Tina Fey and Amy Poehler co-star in this baby-fever comedy about a single, career-oriented woman who previously put parenthood on hold, and is forced to hire a surrogate mother when she discovers there is only a one-in-a-million chance that she will be able to get pregnant. Kate Holbrook (Fey) is a 37-year-old business executive who has always put her professional life before her personal life, but these days her biological clock is ticking louder than ever before. As with everything else she has accomplished in life, Kate is determined to have a child on her own terms. Unfortunately for Kate, the chance of her ever becoming pregnant is slim to none. Undaunted, a willful Kate drafts South Philly working-class girl Angie Ostrowiski (Poehler) -- a woman who may just be her polar opposite -- to be a surrogate mother. Subsequently informed by the head of the surrogacy center (Sigourney Weaver) that her surrogate is indeed pregnant, the excited mother-to-be soon purchases every child-rearing book she can find and excitedly begins the nesting process. But life hasn't quit throwing Kate curveballs just yet, because when a pregnant Angie shows up on her doorstep with no place to live, the woman who once thrived on order finds her life descending into chaos. Now, as Kate attempts to transform Angie into the ideal expectant mother, this odd couple will discover that families aren't always biological, but occasionally formed through friendship as well. Writer Michael McCullers, who authored the screenplays for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Undercover Brother in addition to working on "Saturday Night Live", makes his feature directorial debut with a self-penned screenplay. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Menu
Disc #1, Side A -- Baby Mama: Widescreen
Play
Bonus Features
Alternate Ending
Deleted Scenes
Saturday Night Live: Legacy of Laughter - Brought to You By Volkswagen
Feature Commentary With Writer/Director Michael McCullers, Producer Lorne Michaels and Cast Members Tina Fey & Amy Poehler: On
Feature Commentary With Writer/Director Michael McCullers, Producer Lorne Michaels and Cast Members Tina Fey & Amy Poehler: Off
Languages
Spoken Language
English
Español
Français
Feature Commentary With Writer/Commentary With Writer/Director Michael McCullers, Producer Lorne Michaels and Cast Members Tina Fey & Amy Poehler
Subtitles
English SDH
Español
Français
Off
Scenes
Disc #1, Side B -- Baby Mama: Fullscreen
Play
Bonus Features
From Conception to Delivery: The Making of Baby Mama
Feature Commentary With Writer/Director Michael McCullers, Producer Lorne Michaels and Cast Members Tina Fey & Amy Poehler: On
Feature Commentary With Writer/Director Michael McCullers, Producer Lorne Michaels and Cast Members Tina Fey & Amy Poehler: Off
Languages
Spoken Language
English
Español
Français
Feature Commentary With Writer/Commentary With Writer/Director Michael McCullers, Producer Lorne Michaels and Cast Members Tina Fey & Amy Poehler
Subtitles
English SDH
Español
Français
Off
Scenes
- Chapters
Disc #1, Side A -- Baby Mama: Widescreen
1. Making Choices [4:55]
2. Transfer of Success [4:24]
3. Surrogate Parenting [6:13]
4. Asking a Big Favor [4:51]
5. Super Fruity [3:58]
6. Baby-Proof [5:54]
7. Living With a Child [4:40]
8. Partners [5:37]
9. Hitting It Off [3:04]
10. Just Business [5:16]
11. Ladies' Night Out [4:42]
12. Deal Breaker [4:42]
13. Miraculous Mystery [4:41]
14. First Date [5:07]
15. Weird Vibes [7:28]
16. Party's Over [3:50]
17. Fooled Us All [3:22]
18. Maternity Test [5:39]
19. One in a Million [3:50]
20. Happy Birthday (End Titles) [6:31]
Disc #1, Side B -- Baby Mama: Fullscreen
1. Making Choices [4:55]
2. Transfer of Success [4:24]
3. Surrogate Parenting [6:13]
4. Asking a Big Favor [4:51]
5. Super Fruity [3:58]
6. Baby-Proof [5:54]
7. Living With a Child [4:40]
8. Partners [5:37]
9. Hitting It Off [3:04]
10. Just Business [5:16]
11. Ladies' Night Out [4:42]
12. Deal Breaker [4:42]
13. Miraculous Mystery [4:41]
14. First Date [5:07]
15. Weird Vibes [7:28]
16. Party's Over [3:50]
17. Fooled Us All [3:22]
18. Maternity Test [5:39]
19. One in a Million [3:50]
20. Happy Birthday (End Titles) [6:31]
- Features
Alternate ending
Deleted scenes
Saturday Night Live: Legacy of laughter, brought to you by Volkswagen
From conception to delivery: The making of Baby Mama
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Directors
Michael McCullers
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Producers
Lorne Michaels
John Goldwyn
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-
Composers (Music Score)
Jeff Richmond
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Co-Producers
Erin David
Kay Cannon
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Editors
Bruce Green
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Screen Writers
Michael McCullers
Michael Goldwyn
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Others
Art Director - David Swayze
Assistant Director - Stephen Lee Davis
Casting - Avy Kaufman
Cinematographer - Daryn Okada
Composer (Music Score) - Jeff Richmond
Costume Designer - Renee Ehrlich Kalfus
Executive Producer - Louise Rosner
Executive Producer - Jill Sobel Messick
Executive Producer - Ryan Kavanaugh
Musical Direction/Supervision - Kathy Nelson
Production Designer - Jess Gonchor
Re-Recording Mixer - Marc Fishman
Re-Recording Mixer - Tony Lamberti
Set Decorator - Susan Bode-Tyson
Sound/Sound Designer - Allan Byer
Stunts Coordinator - Blaise Corrigan
Stunts Coordinator - George Aguilar
Supervising Sound Editor - Becky Sullivan
The duo at the center of
Baby Mama --
Tina Fey, as a corporate climber with a loudly ticking biological clock, and
Amy Poehler, as the uneducated slob hired to be her surrogate mom -- are to comedy what
Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers were to dancing. They trust each other, and they know each other's rhythms so well they can trade off who gets to be the straight man and who gets to deliver the laugh lines. If the film were just the two of them, it would be worth recommending, but writer/director
Michael McCullers likes to share the comedic wealth -- he knows that giving the supporting characters good lines pays great rewards. Woefully underappreciated
Maura Tierney captures the amused exhaustion of an experienced mother, while
Steve Martin plays
Fey's new-age spouting corporate shark of a boss with an appropriate laid-back zeal (his reward for a job well done is five minutes of uninterrupted eye contact).
Romany Malco attacks what for all practical purposes appears to be little more than a token role as the Black Doorman, turning it into a razor-sharp portrayal of a straight-talking everyman -- and his
DMX impression is a high point. Finally,
Dax Shepard has played very dumb before (
Idiocracy) and he's done conniving (
Let's Go to Prison!), but bringing those two elements together as
Poehler's dumb and conniving common-law husband, he creates a hilarious addition to the fine comic tradition of threatening but harmless morons.
For at least 75 minutes, there isn't a single dud scene -- or even a bad line of dialogue. Both the comedy and the narrative have a natural ease to them; the filmmakers and the actors are sure of themselves, and the material, as well as the audience. Even in the over-the-top scenes, like those with the Lamaze instructor who sounds like Elmer Fudd, the actors keep everything tethered to reality. Unfortunately, in order to resolve a story where everybody has been lying to just about everybody,
McCullers stages a courtroom scene that is, to put it charitably, shoehorned into the film. He wrote himself into a jam and chose the fastest, rather than the most elegant, way to get himself out of it -- it's the only time the movie loses its breezy confidence. The film regains its footing almost instantly, however, with a feel-good finale that gives us more of what we've loved most:
Fey and
Poehler, who, along with the rest of the cast and crew, deliver this enjoyable bundle of comedic craftsmanship. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi