Monday, May 12, 2008

Baby Mama: C


Film Title: Baby Mama, originally uploaded by wweek.media.

Scott and I saw Baby Mama yesterday after we were rained-out of taking mom to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden.

We love Tina Fey's 30 Rock and Baby Mama had many of Fey's self-depreciating humor. However, the movie's pace was slower and the laughs fewer than 30 Rock. Worse, many of the best laughs were leaked in the previews and clips. That's not to say the movie is not enjoyable. It's almost as cute and sentimental as The 40 Year Old Virgin or Juno

It's a little unfair to compare a 99-minute movie against a 20-minute sitcom in laughs-per-minute, but they have many similar themes -- especially since 30 Rock's season finale Thursday dealt with pregnancy of Fey's character. Both Tina Fey's movie and TV show are about a successful executive in a demanding career dealing with an egocentric boss and eccentric people while seemingly mismanaging her personal life.

Tina Fey seems to be this decade's Murphy Brown -- just a little less political. What's interesting is that almost 16 years since Dan Quale's infamous "Murphy Brown speech", there has not been any social conservative outcry about the "poverty of values" of unwed mothers choosing to have babies. In fact, now that paternity tests and mixed families have become so commonly seen in the media, a woman consciously choosing to have a child is almost quaint.

1 comment:

@JeanAnnVK said...

That's too bad, I really wanted to see that...btw, I was the ED of CAP until very recently and it is great to see it listed on your blog!