Baby Mama
Blu Ray Title: Baby Mama Disk Release Date: September 9th, 2008 Rated: PG-13 Screen format: 1080P High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1 Studio: Universal First theatrical release: 25 April, 2008 Previous releases on disk: Day and date with Anamorphic DVD Director: Michael McCullers Starring: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Romany Malco, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor, and Sigourney Weaver (Plus an uncredited Steve Martin) Sound Formats: English DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish and French DTS 5.1 Length: 1 hour 39 Minutes (BD-25) Subtitles: English, Spanish & French |
Plot: 2/5
Consummate career-woman Kate Holbrook (Fey) suddenly discovers one day that she wants to have a baby before it is too late. Poor genetics and red tape conspire against her chances of in-vitro or adoption, so her last chance seems to be finding a surrogate through the eponymous agency founded by Chaffee Bicknell (Weaver). Poor Kate gets suckered by a flighty and under educated potential surrogate, Angie Ostrowiski (Poehler) and her scheming boyfriend Carl (Shepard), and when Angie and Karl call it quits Angie winds up on Kate’s doorstep. The two couldn’t be more different and as 9 months time marches on the secrets that Angie is hiding get matched by Kate’s reluctance to tell new boyfriend Rob (Kinnear) about their arrangement. Like most house of cards this one too must fall.
I probably wasn’t the target audience for this film, so I wasn’t too impressed, with two exceptions. Romany Malco is awesome as doorman Oscar, essentially reprising his personality from The 40 Year Old Virgin. Steve Martin’s take on the Steve Jobs-ish Barry character is also great because it is done so sparingly. Any more screen time on it and his character would be worn out, but this is just enough. The main story seemed just a bit tired with the “Odd Couple” angle and the “mixed up secrets” having been just so played out too much.
Perhaps the biggest failing for me was that Fey, who I think is about one of the best parts of Saturday Night Live from the last 10 years, gets stuck playing the straight character and not a very appealing one at that. On one level you can admire her self reliance but on another you just have to say her part seems both selfish and wishy washy on what she wants out of life.
Poehler comes off extremely smart in the commentary track, which makes her dumb characters (both here and on SNL) so frustrating. I simply don’t find much humor in the white trash roles she often portrays and Angie’s maturation at the film’s conclusion rings hollow. Perhaps I’m over-thinking it a bit, but while there were a few giggles here and there this isn’t a film that had me laughing straight through.
(Note: once you watch this film, let me know what you think about the scene early on where Fey is touching and smelling a stranger’s baby on an elevator while its mother is oblivious to all this going on behind her back. Seemed VERY creepy to me, and not at all appropriate, yet in the commentary track Fey and Poehler make a big deal about how ‘Sweet’ this scene was to them. /boggle)
Sound Quality: 4/5
Sound wise I was mostly satisfied. Given that this is a primarily dialogue driven comedy there were a few segments where surround sound and bass each played key roles and came through quite well. The bass level in the club scene where Kate and Angie spend some time thumps nicely and the soundtrack features a pretty wide assortment throughout the movie. There’s a few choice rap selections from Carl along with some 90s tunes including Marshall Tucker. Gwen Stefani, UB40, Beastie Boys, and Joan Jett. Sound is mostly focused on the front wall but there were a couple of occasions where the surround impressed, particularly in the club once again. Dialogue is crisp and clear throughout.
Visual Quality: 3.5/5
Visually this is definitely a mixed bag. Many scenes seem perfectly sharp and colorful, especially the faked ‘golden hour’ meeting between Kate and Angie in Kate’s apartment, but then others seemed to be smeared with a bit of a softening effect, especially on faces. It is difficult to tell if this is in the master or was done specifically on the transfer but I suspect it is there all along. Sigourney Weaver comes across like there is a constant soft aura in front of her face, and this effect stands out as not being remotely as sharp as any other component in _all_ of her scenes. Otherwise detail level is moderate but never blew me away, although I can’t peg this on any kind of DNR rather than the specific stock used for the film or the way it was shot. I never specifically say any distracting artifacts or edge enhancement and likewise the print was very clean and free of scratches, pops or other damage.
Extra Features: 2/5
The DVD that launches on the same date is significantly full featured, and many of those have been chopped up and included on Universal’s U-Control, and not for the better. These segments now seem totally random and the sound balance is completely off on many of them. I got so frustrated trying to flip through them using the menu I just stopped, so I have no idea if the alternate ending which is on the DVD can be found here, but I do not believe it is. The only other extra is a feature length commentary with Fey, Poehler, and McCuller with Producer Lorne Michaels as a guest who didn’t say a whole lot in the first ¼ that I listened in on. What I heard on the track is a bit vapid without a whole lot of really interesting detail but it’s clear that Fey and Poehler are really smart people who gave a lot of thought to how they would approach these roles.
Overall: 2.5/5 (not an average)
I’ve been subjected to a lot worse comedies but there is still very little for me to hang my hat on here. As noted above Martin and Malco steal the show and Maura Tierney, Greg Kinnear and Holland Taylor’s talents are almost wasted. I didn’t know a whole lot about Dax Shepard going in, and not a whole lot more going out, but he at least he seems like he has potential. Fey’s character bored me and Poehler’s angered me for the fact that obvious stupidity is in such demand by our society. And then they went and butchered what could have been some interesting featurettes by putting them into some bastardized interactive tool for no other reason than because they could, without regard for any lack of logic that this had. Especially with a $40 MSRP I can’t possibly recommend you do any more than rent this film if you have even a passing interest in it.
