Suck It Monkeys, I'm Going Corporate!

Baby Mama

Release: 04/25/2008
Rated PG-13
1 hour, 36 minutes


Full Price ($$$$) <
> Matinee ($$$)




You heard right; Tina Fey (Mean Girls) is rising from her SNL beginnings into a starring film role, and not with a character created for the show. Many fans probably expected Andy Samberg to be the next huge household name among SNL alums transitioning into hit comedy films, but Hot Rod notwithstanding you'd be wrong. Fey brings it and does us one better by tag-teaming with fellow alum Amy Poehler (Blades of Glory). After seeing Baby Mama I've got to tell you, this duo is the best thing since Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan! (Can I get a What! What! for Night at the Roxbury? No? Snobs!) Umm, scratch that, they’re the best thing since Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly!

Fey and Poehler! Shake and Bake!

I may be all jacked up on Mountain Dew, but I'm also all stoked to see another genuinely funny film this month. If you don't know, Fey plays Kate Holbrook, a single, successful, 37-year-old VP of an Earth-friendly grocery chain known as Round Earth. The only thing missing in her life is the pitter-patter of little feet. Adoption is difficult, and her womb even more so. The only option left: surrogacy. Shortly after the process begins, Kate finds her surrogate, Angie, at her doorstep after Angie leaves her boyfriend Carl (Dax Shepard, Idiocracy). It's an odd coupling who ultimately learn from one another despite their differences and secrets.

Fey and Poehler play perfectly off one another. But to thicken the pot, they've assembled a stellar supporting cast including Sigourney Weaver (Heartbreaker), Greg Kinnear (As Good As It Gets) and Steve Martin (Bowfinge), all in roles slightly more fleshy than cameos. I was laughing at these guys just as much as our dynamic duo. Although a contemporary premise, the formulaic story, written by Michael McCullers (Undercover Brother), could have benefited from some freshness in structure. His direction also needed more pizzazz, but at least it didn't feel like an SNL skit gone on far too long.

Dirty Undies
I know this may not be popular with the cool kids, but Baby Mama keeps it clean. Seeing Fey skanked up with her boobage shoved into her neck is about as visually risqué as it gets.

The Money Shot
You go see this now if for no other reason than to give Tina Fey an Apatow-like producing power that she may wield to better the future of film entertainment. Baby Mama does suffer from predictability, but hey, you ride Splash Mountain 'cause it's fun, and not for the twists and turns. So what are you waiting for? Get wet, bizzlenatches!


To finish off my truly random thoughts on this subject, I leave you with this little diddy. North Carolina Represent!: