April 25, 2008
Universal etc.
Comedy, Romance
DVD
B
In some ways, this is sort of the flip-side of Juno, although Amy Poehler is the working-class surrogate mother for the baby that single yuppie Tina Fey hopes to have, rather than an accidentally pregnant teen. There are more stereotypes here, not just with Poehler's character but also with Romany Malco as Oscar the African-American doorman. I do feel that the performances and the witty screenplay humanize and expand on these stereotypes, but I can see how some might object. Similarly, the whole "ticking biological clock" thing can be seen as both '80s dated and anti-feminist, but Fey and the others manage to tweak this. Similarly, the movie plays with rom-com tropes (most obviously in the "Endless Love" sequence) and applies them to two straight women who become unlikely best friends. The two leads, friends in real life, play off of each other well, and are ably supported by (among others) Steve Martin as Fey's New-Agey boss, Sigourney Weaver as the 50-something but incredibly fertile manager of the surrogacy agency, the eternal Holland Taylor as Fey's mother, and Greg Kinnear as Fey's love interest, one of the more realistic characters, although not without humor.
Siobhan Fallon Hogan, who plays the Birthing Teacher, was (minus the speech impediment) Stanley's Mother in Holes. Mark A. Keeton was Sloane's Dinner Companion in Music and Lyrics and is Denim Suit Guy here. Fred Armisen, the Stroller Saleman here, would be the Pastor in Easy A.
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