 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Baby Mama
- Review Date: April 22, 2008
- PG-13
- Genre: Comedy
- 2008
Common Sense Media says
SNL gals deliver hilarious comedy for teens+.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this comedy is both irreverent and candid in dealing with the topics of infertility, pregnancy, and surrogacy (none of which are probably at the top of teens' "funny subjects" list, so there's a chance they won't be interested, despite the presence of Saturday Night Live veterans Tina Fey and Amy Poehler). Characters make fun of a woman's inability to get pregnant, and one treats pregnancy as a big pain. There's some "white trash" stereotyping involved with Poehler's character, but Angie ultimately proves to be a decent soul. Expect some drinking, references to drug use, and a fair amount of swearing (nothing stronger than "s--t") and product placement mixed in with the plentiful laughs.
What's the story?
BABY MAMA is writer-director Michael McCullers' riotous film about Kate (Tina Fey), a high-powered natural food store exec who can't get pregnant. She's tried everything, including in-vitro fertilization, but her T-shaped uterus is supposedly inhospitable to babies. (One doctor tells her point-blank, "I just don't like your uterus.") So Kate opts for surrogacy, signing up with an elite agency that matches her with spunky Angie (Amy Poehler). Angie's rough around the edges -- she hops on a sink to relieve herself when a childproofed toilet proves too challenging to negotiate -- but she means well, for the most part. One hilarious insemination process later, they're in the mommy business. Or are they?
Is it any good?
Fey and Poehler are a fabulous team -- so fun and funny to watch. Refreshingly un-saccharine even when they participate in the obligatory female bonding moment (playing a karaoke video game, no less), they take a good-enough plot and infuse it with their subversive though still-pleasant humor (they've been working together beautifully for years, and it shows). Fey in particular is ever more able, proving herself to be a comedic genius.
Add Greg Kinnear (more appealing than ever as Kate's from-left field love interest) and Dax Shepard (Angie's clueless-but-comical commonlaw husband) to season the mix. Then, top it off with Steve Martin as the self-aggrandizing, name-dropping, ponytailed tree-hugging CEO of Kate's company ("I am a great man, and great men do great things," he intones) and Sigourney Weaver as the blithely insensitive surrogacy-center owner -- who's compelled to boast about her own body's amazing ability to get pregnant despite being in her 50s -- and you have a winner. There's even some insight into the class wars as they play out in the organic foods-versus-junk food realm, as well as a dash of real poignancy in how much Kate craves a baby. So what if it's predictable? Bottom line: Brilliant? No. But laugh-out-loud funny? Definitely.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about who this movie's target audience is. Is it teens? Older women with children? How can you tell? How is the movie different from most comedies aimed at women? Families can also discuss surrogacy. Why does it seem like such a controversial subject? How were the filmmakers able to mine it for humor? Also, do you think the movie is making any specific points about the "class war"? What do Kate and Angie have in common? How are they different?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
come on
i think it's cool sexy but i don't think it will effect young kids that are 10 or over i mean come on we all know that they know about it all but hide it no probs with it
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AGE
Cute story
A good cute movie for any mature teen who likes babies and pregnancy stories.
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AGE
rewiew
Super funny I would so watch it again. It is not super iffy either there is just the lanuage that could be a iffy for some vewiers.
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AGE
People need to lighten up!
First of all, the person who said that this movie was telling young girls that their life is incomplete without a baby is ridiculous. The movie is about a grown, successful woman who wants a baby. What's wrong with that? She is perfectly capable of making her own decisions and she knows what she wants. It's not like it encourages 13 year olds to have sex and get a baby! It's a hilarious, fun movie and people really need to stop reading too much into things!
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AGE
Not Good At All.
Baby Mama is really innapropriate. It has very bad role models, and the whole idea of the movie is absurd. Commonsense was very innacurate with what they reviewed. It was not funny, it had a large amount of language, and the se* was terrible, and the characters always reffered back to it every scene. Baby Mama was not for kids, and my parents hardly laughed at all. Baby Mama is good for kids maybe 15 and up.
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AGE
Laugh out loud hilarious!
Totally worth seeing! This movie has a funny flair with a little romance that all kids 10 and up will love. Some parents may be concerned with the language use and sexuality in this movie, but the plot is hilarious and Tiny Fey and Amy Poehler make the finishing touches! Peace.
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AGE
Ugh. Absolutely awful. There's some funny moments, but the overall messages (your life is not complete without a baby, etc.) made me want to spork my eyes out. I think young women should be encouraged not to have children if that's what they want without feeling like there's something wrong with them for not wanting kids. Teens should understand that having a baby will not solve their problems and make them happy forever, like the movie seems to say.
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AGE
I loved this movie too!
there are so many good movies out there!
And this one has to be one of them.
4 stars!
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AGE
Great for a Sleepover
This movie is hilarious. Tina and Amy are great together. I've seen this movie at least 15 times, and never go without a laugh. However, there are lots of sexual jokes and references, that I don't think would be appropriate for younger kids. There is some language, but it makes the movie funny. Funny drama.
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| Studio: | Universal Pictures |
| Director: | Michael McCullers |
| Cast: | Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Tina Fey |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 100 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | April 23, 2008 |
| DVD release date: | September 8, 2008 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | crude and sexual humor, language and a drug reference. |
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