Starring: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Greg Kinnear
Directed by Michael McCullers
Year: 2008
IMDB / Wikipedia
This movie should have been made in the 1980s. It would have worked then. Films about parenting, babies, trying to get pregnant, what to do when you’ve become pregnant, and mis-matched buddy films were all the rage in that decade. If this film wanted to do something special it would have tried to give it a new perspective or a new form, not just a re-hash of something from 30 years ago.
The film is about a woman who wants a baby but cannot have one (Fey) and the surrogate mother she has chosen to carry her child (Poehler). The surrogacy is the only original part of the film that is packed with cliches: Fey, thinking she cannot find a suitable mate actually finds one in Kinnear; Poehler, trying to scam Fey actually ends up carrying a child; the list can go on but I’m done with it. The only saving grace of the film is the sparse well-written lines and the charming performances given across the board. Kinnear was an odd choice for his role, but that’s really my only acting gripe. Honestly, I would rather carry a child myself for 9 months than watch this film again any time soon.
Most Valuable Actor: The acting was solid in this film and Tina Fey did not let herself become a two-dimensional character. She adopted some of her Liz Lemon persona for the role and it worked out well. I just wish the chemistry between her and Kinnear was more convincing.
Trailer:
These Things I Have Seen 