Baby Mama

A baby mama is a slang term used for unmarried mothers. While this term is usually derogatory, the same-titled film “Baby Mama” attempts a more humorous approach. It tries to succeed by placing a junk-food eating high-school dropout to be the baby mama for a successful, conservative VP. Sadly, by the end credits, the term baby mama still remains in a same, negative light.

Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey) has almost every piece of her life’s puzzle complete. She’s a very successful vice president for an organic food store chain, and even her boss, Barry (a funny Steve Martin), loves her. She was able to accomplish all this without ever having to lose her dignity. At the age of 37, Kate’s mommy instincts kick into high gear. Since falling in love and getting married are considered a “high risk” at her age, Kate decides to travel down the route of single motherhood.

After getting turned down for adoption and a doctor telling her that he “does not like her uterus,” Kate’s sister convinces her to consider having a surrogate mother. Kate contacts Chaffee Bicknell (Sigourney Weaver) to discuss her options. After assuring Kate, that her agency conducts full background checks, Kate agrees to meet a surrogate. This is when Angie Ostrowski (Amy Poehler) rolls into Kate’s life with her odd boyfriend, Carl (Dax Shephard). Despite some misgivings, Kate and Angie agree to the procedure.

All fluffy dreams of a smooth surrogacy come to a halt, when Angie shows up at Kate’s door. After breaking up with her boyfriend, the unconventional Angie has no place to go and soon begins to wreck havoc on Kate’s clean, peaceful, and conservative lifestyle. With her baby in mind, Kate goes the extra mile to ensure Angie is comfortable. However, Kate does not know that Angie and her boyfriend planned on faking a pregnancy to cash in on some money.

This movie began charming. We witnessed life through Kate’s eyes, as she saw babies every way she turned. However, it soon turned formulaic. Some romance was thrown in the mix by Kate falling for Rob (Greg Kinnear), a local owner of a Jamba Juice-like business. The two opposing characters clash throughout the movie to eventually overcome their differences and become friends. Amy Poehler carries most of the humorous weight throughout the movie. Although the movie does have its many clichés and a predictable ending, its actors give strong performances, making the familiar ride have some freshness. The movie’s main downfall was the unnecessary offensive content.

The profanity was moderate. I counted only 11 profanities, including 3 sh_t. The Lord’s name is said in vain at least 10 times.

When Kate and Angie are arguing, they attend a surrogacy support group. There is a male gay couple who say that their very pregnant surrogate is morbidly obese and fat. Among the group, there is a Methodist couple whose surrogate is a Wiccan. These Christians are portrayed as spineless and cowardly, saying that they hope the Wiccan will not cast a spell on them.

Angie often tells people that she can read auras. Although when asked to a give reading, the audience can clearly see she is merely blowing hot air.

Throughout the movie there are many sexual references. In one scene, Barry whispers to Angie that the secret to success is “a big penis.” Angie lovingly reflects on her past boyfriend who took a whole month to touch her boob. While playing a game, Angie and Kate comment on the video character’s breasts and attire. The word d__k is mentioned at least twice in the film. Kate calls hermaphrodites “chicks with d__ks.” While trying to woo Angie back, Carl asks for a “quickie” in the car.

After being advised to spend time together, Angie decides to take Kate clubbing. At first, Kate dresses modestly, but Angie redresses Kate into a very low-cut dress. While at the club, Angie dances with a man who spanks her. Kate runs into her ex-boyfriend who says he got into an accident which made his penis bigger. Angie encourages Kate to get intoxicated by take multiple shots. After leaving the club, Angie throws a trash can into the ex-boyfriend’s car, smashing the window. They laugh about it while driving away. On the way home, Kate stops by Rob’s smoothie shop. He keeps asking her if his logo looks like a male’s member. They go out on a date and sleep together the same night. The movie never shows nudity or sex scenes.

There is a minor racist tone to the film. The African-American doorman plays a stereotypical role and tells Kate that he has two baby mamas, and she could ask any “black man in Philly” about baby mamas. In one scene, he sings a ‘booty song.’

While discussing her options for having a baby, Kate’s mother asks her to “please not get a black baby.” She says that she’s tired of seeing “celebrities carrying a black baby.” Some of the audience laughed at the line, I found it highly offensive. A child is a child to the Lord, regardless of race.

In 1 Samuel 16:7, the Lord tells the prophet Samuel:

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Sigourney Weaver’s character, Chaffee Bicknell, was my favorite in the film. She was shown to be kind and considerate. As a running gag throughout the film, she was very fertile and was still having children with her husband. Sadly, Kate would show her disgust when realizing how “old” Chaffee Bicknell was to be having children. In real life, Weaver is 58 years old; however, in the Holy Bible, we know that Sarah was 90 years old when she gave birth to Isaac. Right before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord and two angels went to visit Abraham. The Lord tells Abraham he and Sarah would soon have a child. Since she was 90 and beyond the childbearing years, Sarah understandably laughed. The Lord quickly corrected her and said:

“…Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”

Children are blessings from the Lord. There is nothing disgusting about having a child with one’s spouse. Kate was the one who committed fornication and viewed marriage as a “high risk.”

I was a bit disappointed in this movie. Being a fan of Tina Fey, I figured this movie would be charming. While it did have its funny parts, the sexual references and the over worldly views kept me from enjoying it completely. The film’s views of family are contrary to God’s original design. The movie preaches it is okay and perfectly normal to commit fornication or to be homosexual to have children. Many of the sexual references did not help the plot, but brought unfavorable distraction. Personally, I do not recommend the film. However, if the above-mentioned items do not offend you, then you might enjoy the movie. This movie is definitely not made for children. If you take your much older children (16+), this movie would make a good discussion on God’s plan for families.

Violence: Minor / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.

• Positive
• Neutral
• Negative
• Young people