The critics got stuck into this one and it didn't perform as well at the box office as you'd expect a girly film packed with stars to do - but I guess the public figured this material is tackled on TV enough. And it's about babies rather than falling in love.
Still it's quite a bright, entertaining film which some good moments, particularly the dad group - Chris Rock and company are so funny (many of their lines feel ad-libbed - though this may not be the case) that they are strong enough for their own film. There are lots of laugh out loud moments and a warm heart. Elizabeth Banks and Ben Falcone are particularly good.
It does feel like an opportunity that got away, though - Cameron Diaz and Matthew Morrison's plot in particular feels undercooked (their major conflict is over whether their child gets circumcised); so too does Anna Kendrick and Chance Crawford's plot (their scenes together feel too much like people acting rather than something naturalistic - Judd Apatow has set the bar high here and it's not reached); often the movie feels like it's pulling punches (e.g. the relationship between Falcone and dad Dennis Quaid, some of the darker material).
But it was much better than I'd been led to believe and I can understand why the people who made it might be scratching their heads.
No comments:
Post a Comment