BY NOAH DEAN STAHL
Published April 28, 2008
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
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New comedy fails to meet potential
"Baby Mama"
Universal
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, famous for being the first female duo on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, fall considerably short of their comedic potential in the mediocre "Baby Mama." Fey (of TV's "30 Rock") plays Kate Holbrook, the vice president of an organic foods retailer whose ambitions and professional success, among other things, have prevented her from finding Mr. Right and the baby she has always wanted. After repeated unsuccessful visits to the sperm bank and various adoption agencies, Kate resorts to surrogacy and is matched up with the indigent and immature Angie Ostrowski (Poehler, "Blades of Glory). With Angie's scheming boyfriend (Dax Shepard, "Employee of the Month") and the token black doorman (Romany Malco, of TV's "Weeds") in tow, the narrative bumbles along formulaically, ending with as convenient and frustrating a deus ex machina as possible.
Fey and Poehler lack both the chemistry and individual comedic grace for which they're both known, though they're not entirely to blame. The script by Michael McCullers (who also directed) is full of recycled jokes and half-laughs, and, despite the talent of supporting actors like Steve Martin ("Shopgirl") and Greg Kinnear ("Little Miss Sunshine"), fails to distinguish itself.
