Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Baby Mama

MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for crude and sexual humor, language and a drug reference.

Reviewed by: Thaisha Geiger
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Teens, Adults
Genre: Comedy
Length: 1 hr. 36 min.
Year of Release: 2008
USA Release: April 25, 2008 (wide—2,500 theaters)
DVD: September 9, 2008
Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Universal Pictures

Pregnancy issues

Should I save sex for marriage? Answer

How can I deal with temptations? Answer

What are the consequences of sexual immorality? Answer

Fornication

Sex, Love and Relationships
Learn how to make your love the best it can be. Christian answers to questions about sex, marriage, sexual addictions, and more. Valuable resources for Christian couples, singles and pastors.

What’s wrong with being gay? Answer
Homosexual behavior versus the Bible: Are people born gay? Does homosexuality harm anyone? Is it anyone’s business? Are homosexual and heterosexual relationships equally valid?

What about gays needs to change? Answer
It may not be what you think.

What does the Bible say about same sex marriages? Answer

Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures Copyright, Universal Pictures
Featuring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sigourney Weaver, Greg Kinnear, Romany Malco, Dax Shepard, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor, Curt Carlson, Steve Martin, See all »
Director Michael McCullers
Producer John Goldwyn, Jill Sobel Messick, Lorne Michaels, Louise Rosner
Distributor Distributor: Universal Pictures. Trademark logo.Universal Pictures

“Would you put your eggs… in this basket.”

A baby mama is a slang term used for unmarried mothers. While this term is usually derogatory, the same-titled film “Baby Mama” attempts a more humorous approach. It tries to succeed by placing a junk-food eating high-school dropout to be the baby mama for a successful, conservative VP. Sadly, by the end credits, the term baby mama still remains in a same, negative light.

Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey) has almost every piece of her life’s puzzle complete. She’s a very successful vice president for an organic food store chain, and even her boss, Barry (a funny Steve Martin), loves her. She was able to accomplish all this without ever having to lose her dignity. At the age of 37, Kate’s mommy instincts kick into high gear. Since falling in love and getting married are considered a “high risk” at her age, Kate decides to travel down the route of single motherhood.

After getting turned down for adoption and a doctor telling her that he “does not like her uterus,” Kate’s sister convinces her to consider having a surrogate mother. Kate contacts Chaffee Bicknell (Sigourney Weaver) to discuss her options. After assuring Kate, that her agency conducts full background checks, Kate agrees to meet a surrogate. This is when Angie Ostrowski (Amy Poehler) rolls into Kate’s life with her odd boyfriend, Carl (Dax Shephard). Despite some misgivings, Kate and Angie agree to the procedure.

All fluffy dreams of a smooth surrogacy come to a halt, when Angie shows up at Kate’s door. After breaking up with her boyfriend, the unconventional Angie has no place to go and soon begins to wreck havoc on Kate’s clean, peaceful, and conservative lifestyle. With her baby in mind, Kate goes the extra mile to ensure Angie is comfortable. However, Kate does not know that Angie and her boyfriend planned on faking a pregnancy to cash in on some money.

This movie began charming. We witnessed life through Kate’s eyes, as she saw babies every way she turned. However, it soon turned formulaic. Some romance was thrown in the mix by Kate falling for Rob (Greg Kinnear), a local owner of a Jamba Juice-like business. The two opposing characters clash throughout the movie to eventually overcome their differences and become friends. Amy Poehler carries most of the humorous weight throughout the movie. Although the movie does have its many clichés and a predictable ending, its actors give strong performances, making the familiar ride have some freshness. The movie’s main downfall was the unnecessary offensive content.

The profanity was moderate. I counted only 11 profanities, including 3 sh_t. The Lord’s name is said in vain at least 10 times.

When Kate and Angie are arguing, they attend a surrogacy support group. There is a male gay couple who say that their very pregnant surrogate is morbidly obese and fat. Among the group, there is a Methodist couple whose surrogate is a Wiccan. These Christians are portrayed as spineless and cowardly, saying that they hope the Wiccan will not cast a spell on them.

Angie often tells people that she can read auras. Although when asked to a give reading, the audience can clearly see she is merely blowing hot air.

Throughout the movie there are many sexual references. In one scene, Barry whispers to Angie that the secret to success is “a big penis.” Angie lovingly reflects on her past boyfriend who took a whole month to touch her boob. While playing a game, Angie and Kate comment on the video character’s breasts and attire. The word d__k is mentioned at least twice in the film. Kate calls hermaphrodites “chicks with d__ks.” While trying to woo Angie back, Carl asks for a “quickie” in the car.

After being advised to spend time together, Angie decides to take Kate clubbing. At first, Kate dresses modestly, but Angie redresses Kate into a very low-cut dress. While at the club, Angie dances with a man who spanks her. Kate runs into her ex-boyfriend who says he got into an accident which made his penis bigger. Angie encourages Kate to get intoxicated by take multiple shots. After leaving the club, Angie throws a trash can into the ex-boyfriend’s car, smashing the window. They laugh about it while driving away. On the way home, Kate stops by Rob’s smoothie shop. He keeps asking her if his logo looks like a male’s member. They go out on a date and sleep together the same night. The movie never shows nudity or sex scenes.

There is a minor racist tone to the film. The African-American doorman plays a stereotypical role and tells Kate that he has two baby mamas, and she could ask any “black man in Philly” about baby mamas. In one scene, he sings a ‘booty song.’

While discussing her options for having a baby, Kate’s mother asks her to “please not get a black baby.” She says that she’s tired of seeing “celebrities carrying a black baby.” Some of the audience laughed at the line, I found it highly offensive. A child is a child to the Lord, regardless of race.

In 1 Samuel 16:7, the Lord tells the prophet Samuel:

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Sigourney Weaver’s character, Chaffee Bicknell, was my favorite in the film. She was shown to be kind and considerate. As a running gag throughout the film, she was very fertile and was still having children with her husband. Sadly, Kate would show her disgust when realizing how “old” Chaffee Bicknell was to be having children. In real life, Weaver is 58 years old; however, in the Holy Bible, we know that Sarah was 90 years old when she gave birth to Isaac. Right before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord and two angels went to visit Abraham. The Lord tells Abraham he and Sarah would soon have a child. Since she was 90 and beyond the childbearing years, Sarah understandably laughed. The Lord quickly corrected her and said:

“…Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”

Children are blessings from the Lord. There is nothing disgusting about having a child with one’s spouse. Kate was the one who committed fornication and viewed marriage as a “high risk.”

I was a bit disappointed in this movie. Being a fan of Tina Fey, I figured this movie would be charming. While it did have its funny parts, the sexual references and the over worldly views kept me from enjoying it completely. The film’s views of family are contrary to God’s original design. The movie preaches it is okay and perfectly normal to commit fornication or to be homosexual to have children. Many of the sexual references did not help the plot, but brought unfavorable distraction. Personally, I do not recommend the film. However, if the above-mentioned items do not offend you, then you might enjoy the movie. This movie is definitely not made for children. If you take your much older children (16+), this movie would make a good discussion on God’s plan for families.

Violence: Minor / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
PositiveTina Fey and Amy Poehler are hilarious, and this wonderful movie is pro-baby and pro-family—in the sense that there’s more than one way to build a family. Including single parenthood. Including surrogacy. Including friendship.

Kate and Angie are both touchingly flawed—Kate’s always been a little too driven to let down her hair once in a while and have fun, and Angie’s lazy and living with a “common-law husband” who clearly doesn’t really respect her. Clearly these two have a lot to learn from each other. As Kate teaches Angie a thing or two about responsibility and Angie helps Kate lighten up a bit and have a good time, they both become better prepared for motherhood—and in spite of their imperfections, they’re so humble and well-intentioned that we can’t help rooting for them both.

It’s true that Kate’s mother has a few prejudices, but so do plenty of real people—I could imagine my father or grandmother saying the same thing. The doorman acts very stereotypically “black,” but I’ve known a few black people who do think and talk in a similar fashion. The neurotic gay couple and equally neurotic Christians (one of whom ends up eating his Wiccan surrogate’s placenta) are a bit unpleasantly stereotyped, but they’re on screen for probably less than two minutes.

In short, this is a sweet, funny movie with a thoroughly satisfactory ending. Mature audiences should enjoy it.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Feral Burns, age 25
Positive—I found this movie to be quite funny, particularly regarding the references to pregnancy and birth. It contained some bad language, and many sexual references, and obviously sex before marriage is not teaching a good moral lesson.

The stereo typing in the group therapy session, was actually one of my favorite scenes. Along with the shower scene and birthing classes. I thought the actresses were excellent in their roles, plus it had a underlying romantic storyline, and redeeming qualities in the mother’s attitude and marriage (particularly in the alternate ending—which I preferred).

I am very particular about the content of movies and I thought this one was hiliarious. May not be appropriate for younger teenagers.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Tracy, age 43
Neutral
Neutral—I really thought this might be a funny movie, but it really wasn’t. Not a movie for kids or young teens. There is some language and crude humour, and a child born out of wedlock. Plus, it just wasn’t that good a movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Krys, age 27
Negative
Negative—This movie has cute things about it but like so many other secular films distracts us from God’s commandment to follow His ways—Deuteronomy 11:22. God’s ways do not teach that there are many ways to raise a family or that sex before marriage is okay. Having a baby via intercourse prior to marriage is an abuse of a great gift that God has given us. This movie illustrates severe abuse to “Life” and the beauty that is in the fullness of an abundant life. This movie forgets to show a responsible father figure in the picture and continues to portray men as shallow, fleshly and insignificant in the raising of a child, which is all wrong. There may be a clever little “Hollywood spin” put on child birth, but again it leads it’s viewers astray and only numbs the mind from the goodness and fullness of life that comes from the Creator.

It is too bad that films like this continue to show men in this kind of light and continue to confuse people to think that having a baby is the end in itself. What is important is the Lord Jesus and the ways He has put before us to live by and follow in order that we may have life in abundance, not babys, sex, or money. Praise the Lord!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Jeff, age 27 (USA)
Comments from young people
Negative—The woman had a baby when she wasn’t even married with him. That is a sin to have sex before marriage, You wait until marriage. This movie doesn’t show good values. It is teaching Christians to have sex before marriage. I would not say a kid should see this movie It doesn’t stand for the right things. I wouldn’t take anyone to see this movie it is very Offensive to me. This is a Bad movie, not good for any age. Try to live way the lord wants you to live, not how the world wants you to live. The people in the movie are be proud of having a baby before marriage. But in real life this situation is nothing to be happy about. They are a little too happy about this.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2
Dashay, age 14