I didn’t say it was a newsflash. The duo stars in Baby Mama, and actually it’s a little surprising that (1) it took this long to pair them on screen and (2) Lorne Michaels is nowhere to be found (but plenty of SNL & 30 Rock alums are). They have changed very little about their “Fey-as-straight (wo)man and Poehler-as-jester” routine, except when did Fey’s cheek become so … scarless? I spent a chunk of the film playing Where’s Waldo with it. [I'm only slightly ashamed of that.] Anyway, Tina Fey’s signature scar may be difficult to spot, but luckily the same cannot be said for the laughs.
The plot is classic Odd Couple: Fey plays a sophisticated executive who somehow is able to be heard over the ticking of her biological clock. Unfortunately, her womb is a rocky place where the sperm bank’s seed could find no purchase. Enter a backwoods Poehler — Fey’s womb for hire — and her common-law husband Carl (Dax Shepard). Hijinks ensue as Poehler moves in and, as any fish out of water would, creates quite a mess.
Fey and Poehler aren’t rangy actors — there were some tense moments in the theatre when they were called upon to show something other than buffoonery — but for the most part this movie stays right in their wheelhouse. What makes the two entertaining is their easy chemistry together. Fey has always seemed like Poehler’s Big Sister: tolerant, lovingly admonishing; in Baby Mama, Fey literally does have the opportunity to be a mentor for Poehler’s trashy surrogate mother, and (wouldn’t you know it?) she learns something about herself along the way. Poehler, on the other hand, has plenty of room to stretch her ghettotrash personality here, and while she’s always ironically detached from it, it’s still endearing.
The fantastic comedic cast is rounded out by Steve Martin, Greg Kinnear, and the PC guy from the PC/Mac commercials, and I’m always pleasantly surprised to see Brian Stack acting — his turn here as a Methodist man slowly warming to the idea that his surrogate mother is a Wiccan is inspired — because this is still one of the funniest sketches on Late Nite with Conan O’Brien. I could’ve used more of his character in this movie. In fact, I hope Baby Mama II is his story.
Baby Mama wanders slightly into You Got Mail territory when Fey’s corporation moves into a small burg in Philly that looks like it would out-Portland Portland. (In fact, now that I think of it, Oscar [Romany Malco] should move there and petition for his freedom, because I’m not sure what his role is in the movie but it seems like he’s Tina Fey’s smart-talking male slave.) The strange thing is, the corporation is about as hippy-Green as could be; for example, the CEO rewards his employees with “five minutes of uninterrupted eye contact.” Elsewhere, Jamba Juice is vilified.
What’s the message that they’re sending there? I look to Hollywood for tips on what to like/stop liking… am I supposed to stop shopping at Trader Joe’s now? Or am I supposed to do the opposite — stop worrying and love the grassroots conglomerate? I’m seriously confused here. If Baby Mama was just an NBC TV show I’d assume it was their way of working their green peacock/Earth Day thing into the movie, but since it’s not, I don’t know what to think. Jeff, anyone, please help…
