What to Expect When You’re Expecting is yet another major motion picture based on a self help book…do you think Hollywood is running out of ideas? This time the book, of the same name, is a guide on pregnancy written by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel. Based on is used very loosely here…it’s more of a marketing ploy. Basically, What to Expect When You’re Expecting is a kitchen sink ensemble cast in a movie about babies. Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Chace Crawford, Brooklyn Decker, Ben Falcone, Anna Kendrick, Matthew Morrison, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Rodrigo Santoro, Joe Manganiello, Rob Huebel, Thomas Lennon, Amir Talai, Rebel Wilson, Wendi McLendon-Covey…they’re hoping you want to see at least one of these actors in a movie. The movie itself? Not good.
You expect comedy from a comedy but there just weren’t that many laughs. There’s a lot more drama and romance but with having such a big cast, you don’t really care for any of the stories…there’s not enough time to get involved in them. They squeezed in all of the contemporary fads and poked fun at society with a little bit of social commentary around reality tv shows (there’s both a dance show in its 15th season and a fitness show with obese people), food trucks (mmmm, bacon), and a viral youtube video that gets autotuned (is that even funny anymore?). The movie is basically a travel commercial for Atlanta because they showcased most of the tourist spots and even somehow including an actual commercial from Delta (Atlanta is Delta’s hub). You get to see the Georgia Aquarium, Piedmont Park, and even Little Five Points.
what?
The couples: Jennifer Lopez and Rodrigo Santoro are Holly and Alex, a married couple living paycheck by paycheck who can’t have a baby so they decide to adopt one from Africa. Cameron Diaz is Jules, the host of a fitness show, and Matthew Morrison is Evan, a dancer on a dance show. They dance together and can somebody say Dirty Dancing? Elizabeth Banks is Wendy, the owner of a mother-centric boutique and is married to Gary (Ben Falcone), a dentist. They’ve been trying for a baby for years while Gary’s father Ramsey (Dennis Quaid) and new very young wife Skyler (Brooklyn Decker) haven’t. Are you still with me? Anna Kendrick and Chace Crawford, or Rosie and Marco, are both food truck chefs who are old flames that didn’t let the fire go out. Let’s recap: 3 married couples, 3 just happens, 1 adoption, lots of babies.
Go Jackets!
You can imagine that the movie is very episodic and cuts between each of these stories. There are a bunch of tie ins and they try to make all the stories connect but there really is no point for that since this movie is supposed to be about each of the couples. The most entertaining story was between Dennis Quaid, who is a 1 upping Nascar legend, his beautiful pregnant Brooklyn Decker wife who can still wear a swimsuit for two and Elizabeth Banks who thinks she knows everything about pregnancy without ever being pregnant before and her timid husband. This could have been a movie all by itself as Decker has absolutely no problems in pregnancy while Banks can’t control herself. My favorite character from the movie, Rebel Wilson, is also in this storyline and is just hilarious – I don’t know if I could have sit through this entire movie without her.
I will be judging...
Let’s not forget about the “Dude’s Group” made solely to capture the male demographic in this movie. Comedians Chris Rock, Thomas Lennon, Rob Hubel, and Amir Talai make up this group of guys who each have babies and walk around Piedmont Park not judging each other. It’s their alone time to just be guys and gawk over the wonderful life of bachelor DAVIS! DAVIS! DAVIS! (played by Joe Manganiello). These segments are kind of funny at times but also kind of awkward and didn’t feel natural. Rock’s cute little boy steals every single scene he’s in which leads me to the end of the movie. The movie is crap but then they show a bunch of babies. How can you not say, “awww” for babies? It’s a trick! They want you leaving the theater all mushy and feeling good inside hoping you’ll forget how bad the movie is. But nothing can erase the nearly two hours you spent watching a movie inspired by a pregnancy book.
With such an amazing cast including some of today’s best comedians, how could this comedy turn out so shitty? (pun intended) Death at a Funeral goes for the quirky everything that can go wrong does go wrong feel but ends up with a plain old movie that’s as stiff as the body in the casket they’re having the funeral for. Chris Rock, playing Aaron, has been living with and supporting his father, mother (Loretta Devine), and wife (Regina Hall) who is trying to get pregnant. Martin Lawrence is Aaron ‘s younger and much more successful brother Ryan who everyone adores…except, of course, Aaron. Joined by the rest of his family, Aaron tries to hold a service for his late father but one thing leads to another and you’re supposed to laugh.
