In 2004 Tina Fey and Amy Poehler became the first all-woman tandem for the Saturday Night Live segment “Weekend Update.” The comedic chemistry between the two made the “Update” segment a highlight during a harsh transition time for the SNL crew. Now, two years after their last segment together, Poehler and Fey reunite in the comedy Baby Mama.
We are first introduced to Kate Holbrook (Fey) explaining how badly she wants a child of her own, scaring away her date.
After being told Kate has been told she has a one-in-a-million chance of conceiving a child through artificial insemination, or natural conception workaholic, Kate decides she has reached the end of her self-dependent road of trying to have a child and reaches out to a surrogacy agency to help her fulfill her maternal desires. Enter Angie (Poehler,) a woman who “knows how to get pregnant” as she casually blurts out in her first meeting with Kate.
Much like on Fey’s NBC show 30 Rock she seems to have been type casted for the role of Kate, as she plays a successful woman who shares an “interesting” relationship with a boss who is less than modest in his accomplishments.
Baby Mama is a perfect example of how chemistry between two leading roles can overcome straight acting talent. Along with a solid, and extremely humorous supporting cast such as Steve Martin and Sigourney Weaver Baby Mama can definitely walk on its own quickly after the movie’s opening crawls out of the gates.
Martin plays the quirky, hippy owner of the organic food company that Kate who has creates humorously awkward moments. Such as his reward to Kate for finding a perfect spot to open a flagship store in midtown Philadelphia is five minutes of “uninterrupted eye contact.”
Weaver’s character- who is not only the president of a surrogacy planning center, but also an extremely fertile woman herself- plays the object of Kate’s envy, being several years more advanced than Kate. Weaver’s portrayal of the extremely air-headed and whimsical Chaffee Bicknell is a delight to see. The fast quips between Bicknell and Kate are extremely pleasurable.
For what it brings to the table, Baby Mama is a comedy that everyone can enjoy. There are several scenes that could have played out as a skit on SNL, with a little more depth than just the string of one-line jokes the show has become known for. The overall message of the story doesn’t shy too far away from what you would expect from this movie, which does hinder the movie from bringing it to that next tier of pregnancy comedies that have become so popular lately (i.e. Knocked Up, and Juno.)
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