Baby Mama

Movie review by S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media
Baby Mama Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 15+

SNL gals deliver hilarious comedy for teens+.

PG-13 2008 100 minutes
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Parents say

age 13+

Based on 13 reviews

Kids say

age 12+

Based on 33 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

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.

Community Reviews

aubreyb1
aubreyb1 Adult
January 18, 2019
age 13+

Very funny!

Entertaining!
wonder dove
wonder dove Adult
September 14, 2012
age 14+

Absolutely hilarious film!

Love it!!! This is one of my favorite feel good movies when I need a good laugh. It's uplifting, fun and could teach someone a thing or two about babies, pregnancy and even surrogacy! I love Tina Fey and her character rocks (I'm into health foods too, so I can relate with her sometimes crazy health-food ideas). I also really liked Amy Poehler's character, she's sassy & witty with an absolutely hilarious personality. Can't forget Sigourney Weaver who's also very funny (playing a woman who's clearly passed the age of having babies - she has twins!), Steve Martin the CEO of a company Kate works for gives a refreshing performance...and last but not least my favorite Greg Kinnear! I found him very attractive in this movie! All in all, hilarious movie teens will love, adults will like (even men!). Some minor language, some kissing and a couple "dirty words" played nicely, drinking hard liquor (by a woman who's pretending to be pregnant). Highly recommended for 14 and up!!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
See all 13 parent reviews

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.

Talk to Your Kids 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?

Movie Details

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