What to Expect When You're Expecting
2/4
Starring: Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Cameron Diaz, Ben Falcone, Jennifer Lopez, Rodrigo Santoro, Dennis Quaid, Brooklyn Decker, Chris Rock, Chace Crawford, Matthew Morrison
Rated PG-13 for Crude and Sexual Content, Thematic Elements and Language
The informational book on pregnancy, "What to Expect When You're Expecting," has been the book for expectant mothers since the first edition was published in 1984 (although not without controversy...critics claim it makes expectant mothers paraonid by only concentrating on what can go wrong and enforcing strict dietary guidlines, and because the writer, Heidi Murkoff, is not a registered nurse, and only goes to medical professionals for advice after she's done writing). Virtually every movie dealing with pregnancy has the pregnant female character reading it at some point.
But as an advice book, the book has no storyline. That hasn't stopped Lionsgate from transforming it into a movie. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It could use the information contained in its pages to create conflict or intelligent thought about pregnancy and how real characters deal with the highs and lows of being pregnant. Sadly, for anyone looking for insight into what it's like being pregnant isn't going to find it here. This is an ensemble romantic comedy (a term I use with extreme reservations because it's not particularly funny and only sporadically romantic) that uses the name of the book for marketing purposes only.
The film details the lives of five couples, two of which are on tangentally linked to pregnancy. TV fitness guru Jules (Diaz) has a fling with her "Dances with the Stars"-ish partner, Evan (Morrison), and they end up getting pregnant. Baby crazy Wendy (Banks) has been desperately trying to concieve with her supportive husband, Gary (Falcone) and when she finally does, she finds out that it's not nearly as fun as the magazines claim it is. At the same time, Gary's famous father, Ramsey (Quaid) has knocked up his trophy wife, Skyler (Decker), and she is having a great pregnancy, which makes both Wendy and Gary extremely jealous. Holly (Lopez) and Alex (Santoro) are unable to concieve, so they look into adoption. Finally, there's Rosie (Kendrick), who after having a one-night stand with player Marco (Crawford) suddenly has a little human growing inside her.
Ensemble romances are notoriously difficult to pull off. There are too many characters and there's too much drama. "New Year's Eve," for what it was, worked because it kept things simple. Few of those stories needed more time to tell. That's not the case here. In some, there's significant ground unturned. In others, far too much time is spent with them.
The actors do their jobs, but few of them engage. The only actors worth remembering are Banks (because she's so funny), Kendrick (because she can act), Crawford (surprisingly, ditto) and Morrison. All of them are worth spending time with, though Kendrick and Crawford's story is the one that goes on for far too long. No one else makes much of a positive impression, except for Quaid, who is embarrassingly bad.
The screenplay, by Shauna Cross and Heather Hatch, is as dimwitted as they come. Their screenplay is so lacking in insight that I'd believe it if someone told me that it originally had nothing to do with the advice book and had been branded that by Lionsgate.
Director Kirk Jones, who was behind the arthouse smash "Waking Ned Devine," appears to be in over his head. The film is messy, and he resorts to unsubtle and stupid "clues" to connect the stories. It's as if he's saying, "Hey, look! They're all connected!" It doesn't really work and stretches the credibility level far beyond believable. The film is also overlong. A comedy needs only 90 minutes to tell its story. For a film that spends nearly two hours, even if it's an ensemble movie, it has to offer something more substantial than this.
I'll admit that it is watchable, and there are some bits that work. Banks' speech on why pregnancy sucks, which is hinted at in the trailer, is a case in point. It's pretty funny. But it's not worth it to sit through the whole movie to catch the few moments that work.
Starring: Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Cameron Diaz, Ben Falcone, Jennifer Lopez, Rodrigo Santoro, Dennis Quaid, Brooklyn Decker, Chris Rock, Chace Crawford, Matthew Morrison
Rated PG-13 for Crude and Sexual Content, Thematic Elements and Language
The informational book on pregnancy, "What to Expect When You're Expecting," has been the book for expectant mothers since the first edition was published in 1984 (although not without controversy...critics claim it makes expectant mothers paraonid by only concentrating on what can go wrong and enforcing strict dietary guidlines, and because the writer, Heidi Murkoff, is not a registered nurse, and only goes to medical professionals for advice after she's done writing). Virtually every movie dealing with pregnancy has the pregnant female character reading it at some point.
But as an advice book, the book has no storyline. That hasn't stopped Lionsgate from transforming it into a movie. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It could use the information contained in its pages to create conflict or intelligent thought about pregnancy and how real characters deal with the highs and lows of being pregnant. Sadly, for anyone looking for insight into what it's like being pregnant isn't going to find it here. This is an ensemble romantic comedy (a term I use with extreme reservations because it's not particularly funny and only sporadically romantic) that uses the name of the book for marketing purposes only.
The film details the lives of five couples, two of which are on tangentally linked to pregnancy. TV fitness guru Jules (Diaz) has a fling with her "Dances with the Stars"-ish partner, Evan (Morrison), and they end up getting pregnant. Baby crazy Wendy (Banks) has been desperately trying to concieve with her supportive husband, Gary (Falcone) and when she finally does, she finds out that it's not nearly as fun as the magazines claim it is. At the same time, Gary's famous father, Ramsey (Quaid) has knocked up his trophy wife, Skyler (Decker), and she is having a great pregnancy, which makes both Wendy and Gary extremely jealous. Holly (Lopez) and Alex (Santoro) are unable to concieve, so they look into adoption. Finally, there's Rosie (Kendrick), who after having a one-night stand with player Marco (Crawford) suddenly has a little human growing inside her.
Ensemble romances are notoriously difficult to pull off. There are too many characters and there's too much drama. "New Year's Eve," for what it was, worked because it kept things simple. Few of those stories needed more time to tell. That's not the case here. In some, there's significant ground unturned. In others, far too much time is spent with them.
The actors do their jobs, but few of them engage. The only actors worth remembering are Banks (because she's so funny), Kendrick (because she can act), Crawford (surprisingly, ditto) and Morrison. All of them are worth spending time with, though Kendrick and Crawford's story is the one that goes on for far too long. No one else makes much of a positive impression, except for Quaid, who is embarrassingly bad.
The screenplay, by Shauna Cross and Heather Hatch, is as dimwitted as they come. Their screenplay is so lacking in insight that I'd believe it if someone told me that it originally had nothing to do with the advice book and had been branded that by Lionsgate.
Director Kirk Jones, who was behind the arthouse smash "Waking Ned Devine," appears to be in over his head. The film is messy, and he resorts to unsubtle and stupid "clues" to connect the stories. It's as if he's saying, "Hey, look! They're all connected!" It doesn't really work and stretches the credibility level far beyond believable. The film is also overlong. A comedy needs only 90 minutes to tell its story. For a film that spends nearly two hours, even if it's an ensemble movie, it has to offer something more substantial than this.
I'll admit that it is watchable, and there are some bits that work. Banks' speech on why pregnancy sucks, which is hinted at in the trailer, is a case in point. It's pretty funny. But it's not worth it to sit through the whole movie to catch the few moments that work.
Comments
Post a Comment