Baby Boom (film)
Encyclopedia
Baby Boom is a 1987 comedy film starring Diane Keaton
. The film also launched a subsequent television show starring Kate Jackson
, running from 1988 to 1989. The original music score was composed by Bill Conti
and the cinematography was by William A. Fraker
.
) is a driven Manhattan
career woman (nicknamed the "Tiger Lady") whose fast-paced lifestyle leaves her with no time for romance or relaxation, though she derives pleasure from her frantic schedule and demanding job. She lives with an investment broker (Harold Ramis
) whose job and lifestyle are likewise hectic. Her life is thrown into turmoil when she inherits a toddler, Elizabeth (twins Kristina and Michelle Kennedy), from a deceased cousin
whom she hadn't seen since 1954.
Soon, caring for the child occupies much of her time, and her business career begins to suffer, culminating in the loss of her boyfriend and job. Wiatt tries to give Elizabeth up for adoption, but finds that she has grown too attached to the child, forcing a reevaluation of her priorities. She moves into a house in the country in Vermont
. Purchasing the home without first having seen it in person or having it inspected, she finds it is riddled with problems (failing plumbing and heating, lack of water, bad roof).
Suffering a nervous breakdown
and on the brink of financial collapse, she sees an opportunity to sell baby food
applesauce
she had concocted for Elizabeth made from fresh ingredients. Amid the clamor for her new products, she develops a relationship with local veterinarian
Jeff Cooper (Sam Shepard
). At first annoyed by him, she is opposed to Jeff's overtures and is focused now on as fast as possible to return to New York. Finding a buyer for the house proves almost impossible.
After a rough start, she succeeds in selling her "Gourmet Baby Food", and soon business is booming. Finally, her old boss (Sam Wanamaker
) and his client (Pat Hingle
) take notice. They offer to buy her company for millions, take her product nationwide, and give her back her career and high-prestige lifestyle. On the brink of accepting, she decides that she can grow her enterprise on her own without having to sacrifice her personal life. She returns to Vermont to the arms of her new lover and adopted daughter.
criticism aggregation website ranks it 80%. It earned a respectable USD
$1,608,924 in its opening weekend in the U.S.
alone and earned approximately $26,712,476 in its entire run.
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton is an American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970...
. The film also launched a subsequent television show starring Kate Jackson
Kate Jackson
Kate Jackson is an American actress, director, and producer, perhaps best known for her role as Sabrina Duncan in the popular 1970s television series Charlie's Angels...
, running from 1988 to 1989. The original music score was composed by Bill Conti
Bill Conti
William "Bill" Conti is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.-Early life and career:...
and the cinematography was by William A. Fraker
William A. Fraker
William Ashman Fraker, A.S.C., B.S.C. was a cinematographer, film director, and producer. He has been nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. In 2000, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Cinematographers honoring his career...
.
Plot
J.C. Wiatt (Diane KeatonDiane Keaton
Diane Keaton is an American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970...
) is a driven Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
career woman (nicknamed the "Tiger Lady") whose fast-paced lifestyle leaves her with no time for romance or relaxation, though she derives pleasure from her frantic schedule and demanding job. She lives with an investment broker (Harold Ramis
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis is an American actor, director, and writer, specializing in comedy. His best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters and Russell Ziskey in Stripes , both of which he also co-wrote...
) whose job and lifestyle are likewise hectic. Her life is thrown into turmoil when she inherits a toddler, Elizabeth (twins Kristina and Michelle Kennedy), from a deceased cousin
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
whom she hadn't seen since 1954.
Soon, caring for the child occupies much of her time, and her business career begins to suffer, culminating in the loss of her boyfriend and job. Wiatt tries to give Elizabeth up for adoption, but finds that she has grown too attached to the child, forcing a reevaluation of her priorities. She moves into a house in the country in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. Purchasing the home without first having seen it in person or having it inspected, she finds it is riddled with problems (failing plumbing and heating, lack of water, bad roof).
Suffering a nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
and on the brink of financial collapse, she sees an opportunity to sell baby food
Baby food
Baby food is any food, other than breastmilk or infant formula, that is made specifically for infants, roughly between the ages of four to six months to 2 years. The food comes in multiple varieties and tastes, can be produced by many manufacturers, or may be table food that the rest of the family...
applesauce
Applesauce
Apple sauce or applesauce is a purée made of apples. It can be made with peeled or unpeeled apples and a variety of spices . Fruit flavorings or sweeteners such as sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or sucralose are also commonly added...
she had concocted for Elizabeth made from fresh ingredients. Amid the clamor for her new products, she develops a relationship with local veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
Jeff Cooper (Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
). At first annoyed by him, she is opposed to Jeff's overtures and is focused now on as fast as possible to return to New York. Finding a buyer for the house proves almost impossible.
After a rough start, she succeeds in selling her "Gourmet Baby Food", and soon business is booming. Finally, her old boss (Sam Wanamaker
Sam Wanamaker
Samuel Wanamaker was an American film director and actor and is credited as the person most responsible for the modern recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London...
) and his client (Pat Hingle
Pat Hingle
Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
) take notice. They offer to buy her company for millions, take her product nationwide, and give her back her career and high-prestige lifestyle. On the brink of accepting, she decides that she can grow her enterprise on her own without having to sacrifice her personal life. She returns to Vermont to the arms of her new lover and adopted daughter.
Cast
- Diane KeatonDiane KeatonDiane Keaton is an American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970...
— J.C. Wiatt - Sam ShepardSam ShepardSam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
— Dr. Jeff Cooper - Harold RamisHarold RamisHarold Allen Ramis is an American actor, director, and writer, specializing in comedy. His best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters and Russell Ziskey in Stripes , both of which he also co-wrote...
— Steven Buchner - Sam WanamakerSam WanamakerSamuel Wanamaker was an American film director and actor and is credited as the person most responsible for the modern recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London...
— Fritz Curtis - James SpaderJames SpaderJames Todd Spader is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, and Secretary...
— Ken Arrenberg - Pat HinglePat HingleMartin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
— Hughes Larrabee - Britt LeachBritt LeachBritt Leach is an American character actor. He is best known for his role in the films Goin' South, Fuzz, The Last Starfighter, Weird Science, The Great Outdoors, Baby Boom, and Silent Night, Deadly Night...
— Verne Boone - Linda EllerbeeLinda EllerbeeLinda Ellerbee is an American journalist who is most known for several jobs at NBC News, including Washington, DC correspondent, host of the Nickelodeon network's Nick News, and reporter and co-anchor of NBC News Overnight, which was recognized by the jurors of the duPont Columbia Awards as...
— Narrator - Kim Sebastian — Robin
- Mary GrossMary GrossMary Gross is an American comedian and actress, perhaps best known for her four-year stint on Saturday Night Live from 1981 to 1985. Her credits also include minor roles on Animaniacs, Boston Legal and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch...
— Charlotte Elkman - Kristina & Michelle Kennedy — Elizabeth
Reception
Baby Boom was favorably received by audiences and critics alike. The Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
criticism aggregation website ranks it 80%. It earned a respectable USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$1,608,924 in its opening weekend in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alone and earned approximately $26,712,476 in its entire run.