No one with two eyes and ears can deny that Tina Fey is a very talented woman.
She worked alongside “Saturday Night Live” creator and producer Lorne Michaels as the first female head writer of the show from 1999 until 2006. Then, she moved right on to the still somewhat underrated NBC comedy “30 Rock.” She broke into the film world with “Mean Girls” in 2004, which she both wrote and starred in.
In her new film, “Baby Mama,” Fey’s talent shines through once again. Both directed and written by Michael McCullers, another ex of “Saturday Night Live,” “Baby Mama” has a packed cast and interesting storyline due to today’s artificial insemination crazed world.
Fey plays Kate, a 37-year-old, very accomplished business woman. She is on the verge of being named vice president of her organic food grocery chain by her crazy New Age boss, played by Steve Martin with an awful ponytail. But there is one thing missing from her life: a baby.
After finding out that she has a “one in a million” chance of conceiving a child on her own from her doctor who proclaims that he “just doesn’t like [her] uterus,” Kate decides to find a surrogate mother to carry her baby.
The movie skips over all the typical conversation about how hard it is to be a single woman after a certain age and still be considered successful today. Instead, it goes right to the comedy, which is mostly provided by Kate’s “baby mama,” Angie, played by Amy Poehler.
Fey and Poehler have great comedic chemistry. The majority of the film’s laughs come from Poehler’s ability to demonstrate the maturity of a five year old without being too irksome. The movie’s storyline is predictable, and much of it relies on the unrealistic secrets the characters keep from each other, but that doesn’t take away from the comedy.
“Baby Mama” is a great blend of awkward moments, a product of the contrast of the different comedic styles of Poehler, Fey and in some cases, Steve Martin.
Though the storyline leaves something to be desired, there is no way to sit through this movie without enjoying some good laughs. At the very least, Amy Poehler’s ridiculous outfits should get you going.
Contact Campus Press Reporter Emma Dessau at Emma.Dessau@Colorado.edu
