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Baby Mama (film)
Encyclopedia
Baby Mama is a 2008 comedy film
from Universal Pictures
written and directed by Michael McCullers
and starring Tina Fey
, Amy Poehler
, Sigourney Weaver
, Greg Kinnear
, and Dax Shepard
.
) is a successful single businesswoman who has always put her career before her personal life. Now in her late thirties, she finally decides to have a child of her own but her plans are dampened when she discovers she has a minuscule chance of becoming pregnant due to her uterus
being T-shaped
. Also denied the chance to adopt, Kate hires an immature, obnoxious South Philly
girl named Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler
) to become a surrogate mother
for her.
When Angie becomes pregnant, Kate begins preparing for motherhood in her own typically driven fashion — until her surrogate shows up at her door with no place to live. Their conflicting personalities put them at odds as Kate learns first-hand about balancing motherhood and career and also dates the owner of a local blended juice cafe, Rob (Greg Kinnear
).
Unbeknownst to Kate, the in-vitro fertilization procedure Angie had did not succeed and she is feigning the pregnancy. Hoping to ultimately run off with her payment, Angie begins to regret lying about her not being pregnant but continually puts off confessing. When she gets an ultrasound, she discovers she is actually pregnant. Realizing the baby is her own (with her common-law husband, Carl, from whom she is separated), Angie is forced to confess at Kate's baby shower. When Kate explains to Angie that the pregnancy test was supposed to be taken two weeks after the procedure, and that the baby could still belong to her, it drives a wedge between the two women.
At a court hearing to determine the maternity of the child, the baby turns out to be Angie's and Angie makes an impassioned apology to Kate. As the two women meet face to face after the proceedings, Angie's water breaks and Kate rushes her to the hospital. During Angie's delivery, Kate passes out. As she wakes up, the doctor supervising Angie's pregnancy tells Kate that she's two months pregnant (the result of her relationship with her new boyfriend). After receiving the news, she goes to visit Angie, who is holding her new baby girl Stefani, named for Gwen Stefani
, aka "Stef". Kate forgives Angie and the two become best friends, ultimately changing each other for the better.
Angie and Kate raise their children and are in a sister-like relationship one year later at Stefani's first birthday party. It is revealed that Kate and Rob are very proud parents of a baby girl and are engaged. Although he does not get back together with Angie, Carl stays close to his daughter and begins taking parenting classes. The final scene shows Angie and Kate sitting in front of a television set with their children, watching Tom and Jerry
cartoons making a reference to an earlier scene in the film.
Baby Mama received generally positive reviews from critics. As of February 15, 2009, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
reported that 63% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 153 reviews, with the consensus that the film is "a lightweight, predictable comedy with strong performances." Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 55 out of 100, based on 34 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews.
In a review for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, reproductive lawyer Melissa Brisman comments that this movie should be viewed as entertainment rather than as portraying surrogacy in a factual manner.
and Canada
, ranking #1 at the box office and averaging $6,845 per theater.
Baby Mama grossed a total of $64,163,648, with a production budget of $30 million.
and Blu-ray. Extras included commentary with writer/director Michael McCullers and cast members Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, From Conception to Delivery: The Making of Baby Mama Featurette, an alternate ending, deleted scenes, and Saturday Night Live: Legacy of Laughter.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
from Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
written and directed by Michael McCullers
Michael McCullers
Michael McCullers is an American comedy film screenwriter.-Biography:A native of Indian Springs Village, Alabama, McCullers is a former writer on Saturday Night Live and is best known for co-writing the script for two Austin Powers movies, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers...
and starring Tina Fey
Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live , the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls and Baby Mama .Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the...
, Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
, Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
, Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
, and Dax Shepard
Dax Shepard
Dax Randall Shepard is an American actor.- Early life :Shepard was born in Milford, Michigan and attended Muir Junior High and Walled Lake Central High School, before enrolling in The Groundlings school. He later received a degree in anthropology at UCLA...
.
Plot
Kate Holbrook (Tina FeyTina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live , the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls and Baby Mama .Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the...
) is a successful single businesswoman who has always put her career before her personal life. Now in her late thirties, she finally decides to have a child of her own but her plans are dampened when she discovers she has a minuscule chance of becoming pregnant due to her uterus
Uterus
The uterus or womb is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina, while the other is connected to one or both fallopian tubes, depending on the species...
being T-shaped
Uterine malformation
A uterine malformation is a type of female genital malformation resulting from an abnormal development of the Müllerian duct during embryogenesis...
. Also denied the chance to adopt, Kate hires an immature, obnoxious South Philly
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...
girl named Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
) to become a surrogate mother
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman may be the child's genetic mother , or she may carry the pregnancy to delivery after having an embryo, to which she has no genetic relationship whatsoever, transferred to her uterus...
for her.
When Angie becomes pregnant, Kate begins preparing for motherhood in her own typically driven fashion — until her surrogate shows up at her door with no place to live. Their conflicting personalities put them at odds as Kate learns first-hand about balancing motherhood and career and also dates the owner of a local blended juice cafe, Rob (Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
).
Unbeknownst to Kate, the in-vitro fertilization procedure Angie had did not succeed and she is feigning the pregnancy. Hoping to ultimately run off with her payment, Angie begins to regret lying about her not being pregnant but continually puts off confessing. When she gets an ultrasound, she discovers she is actually pregnant. Realizing the baby is her own (with her common-law husband, Carl, from whom she is separated), Angie is forced to confess at Kate's baby shower. When Kate explains to Angie that the pregnancy test was supposed to be taken two weeks after the procedure, and that the baby could still belong to her, it drives a wedge between the two women.
At a court hearing to determine the maternity of the child, the baby turns out to be Angie's and Angie makes an impassioned apology to Kate. As the two women meet face to face after the proceedings, Angie's water breaks and Kate rushes her to the hospital. During Angie's delivery, Kate passes out. As she wakes up, the doctor supervising Angie's pregnancy tells Kate that she's two months pregnant (the result of her relationship with her new boyfriend). After receiving the news, she goes to visit Angie, who is holding her new baby girl Stefani, named for Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...
, aka "Stef". Kate forgives Angie and the two become best friends, ultimately changing each other for the better.
Angie and Kate raise their children and are in a sister-like relationship one year later at Stefani's first birthday party. It is revealed that Kate and Rob are very proud parents of a baby girl and are engaged. Although he does not get back together with Angie, Carl stays close to his daughter and begins taking parenting classes. The final scene shows Angie and Kate sitting in front of a television set with their children, watching Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
cartoons making a reference to an earlier scene in the film.
Cast
- Tina FeyTina FeyElizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live , the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls and Baby Mama .Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the...
as Katherine "Kate" Holbrook - Amy PoehlerAmy PoehlerAmy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
as Angela "Angie" Ostrowski - Greg KinnearGreg KinnearGregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
as Rob Ackerman - Romany MalcoRomany MalcoRomany Romanic Malco, Jr. is an American actor and music producer. He has been nominated for several awards, including an NAACP Image Award, MTV Movie Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. Malco portrayed Conrad Shepard on the Showtime series Weeds. He most recently played George St...
as Oscar Priyan - Dax ShepardDax ShepardDax Randall Shepard is an American actor.- Early life :Shepard was born in Milford, Michigan and attended Muir Junior High and Walled Lake Central High School, before enrolling in The Groundlings school. He later received a degree in anthropology at UCLA...
as Carl Loomis - Maura TierneyMaura TierneyMaura Therese Tierney is an American film and television actress, who is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on NewsRadio and Abby Lockhart on the television medical drama ER.-Early life:...
as Caroline Holbrook - Steve MartinSteve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
as Barry Waterman - Sigourney WeaverSigourney WeaverSigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
as Chaffee Bicknell - Holland TaylorHolland TaylorHolland Virginia Taylor is an American actress of film, stage and television. Her notable television roles include Ruth Dunbar in Bosom Buddies, senator's wife Margaret Powers on Norman Lear's The Powers That Be, Judge Roberta Kittleson in The Practice and Evelyn Harper in Two and a Half...
as Rose Holbrook - Stephen MailerStephen MailerStephen McLeod Mailer is an American stage and screen actor. His credits include appearances in films like A League of Their Own, Cry Baby, and Baby Mama, and the television shows Gilmore Girls and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Mailer was born in New York City, New York, the son of novelist...
as Dan - Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Birthing Teacher
- Kevin CollinsKevin CollinsKevin Collins may refer to:*Kevin Collins , American actor in theatre, film, television and radio drama*Kevin T. Collins, American theatre actor and voice actor*Kevin Andrew Collins, child abducted from San Francisco in 1984...
as Rick - Will ForteWill ForteOrville Willis Forte IV, better known as Will Forte , is an American actor, voice actor, comedian and writer best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2002–2010 and for starring in the SNL spin-off film MacGruber.-Early life:Forte was born in Alameda County, California, the son of...
as Scott - Denis O'HareDenis O'HareDenis O'Hare is an American actor noted for his award winning performances in Take Me Out and Sweet Charity as well as the HBO television show True Blood. He is also known for his supporting roles in the films Charlie Wilson's War and Milk...
as Dr. Manheim - Fred ArmisenFred ArmisenFred Armisen is an American actor, comedian and musician best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and portraying off-color foreigners in various comedy films such as EuroTrip, Anchorman and Cop Out...
as Stroller Salesman - James RebhornJames RebhornJames Robert Rebhorn is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 television shows, feature films and plays.-Personal life:...
as Judge - John HodgmanJohn HodgmanJohn Kellogg Hodgman is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require, and That Is All, he is known for his personification of a PC in contrast to Justin Long's personification of a Mac in...
as Fertility Specialist - Thomas McCarthyThomas McCarthyThomas McCarthy may refer to:*Thomas McCarthy , Irish poet*Thomas McCarthy , Quebec businessman and political figure*Thomas McCarthy , American actor, director and screenwriter...
as Kate's Date (as Tom McCarthy) - Jason Mantzoukas as Gay Couple
- Dave FinkelDave FinkelDave Finkel is an American television producer, actor, and screenwriter who has worked on many successful television shows. He often works with his screenwriting partner Brett Baer.- Writing work :* 30 Rock * Joey...
as Gay Couple - Brian StackBrian StackBrian Stack is an American actor, writer and comedian best known for his sketch comedy work on all three Conan O'Brien late-night talk shows, previously working on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, and currently on O'Brien's newest show, Conan on TBS.-Early...
as Dave - Felicity Stiverson as Ashley - Wiccan
- Anne L. Nathan as Bookstore Clerk
- Jay Phillips as Boo-Boo Buster
- Kathy Searle as Cool Mom
- Glen CampbellGlen CampbellGlen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
as Maternity Nurse - Alice Kernelberg as Roj's Daughter
- Catherine Rose as Caroline's 4-Year-Old Daughter Alex
Critical reception
Rotten 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...
reported that 63% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 153 reviews, with the consensus that the film is "a lightweight, predictable comedy with strong performances." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 55 out of 100, based on 34 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews.
In a review for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, reproductive lawyer Melissa Brisman comments that this movie should be viewed as entertainment rather than as portraying surrogacy in a factual manner.
Box office
In its opening weekend, Baby Mama grossed $17,407,110 in 2,543 theaters in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, ranking #1 at the box office and averaging $6,845 per theater.
Baby Mama grossed a total of $64,163,648, with a production budget of $30 million.
Home media
Baby Mama was released on September 9, 2008 on both DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray. Extras included commentary with writer/director Michael McCullers and cast members Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, From Conception to Delivery: The Making of Baby Mama Featurette, an alternate ending, deleted scenes, and Saturday Night Live: Legacy of Laughter.