Dan's Papers - May 23, 2008 - Flick Picks by Ian Stark

The "Saturday Night Live" goldmine continues to churn out easy money for super-genius producer Lorne Michaels. His ability to find and then bank on talented writers and comics has yet to diminish, even while his late-night landmark isn't in one of its golden eras. If you have any doubts, think of the stars he has brought to our attention: Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Mike Myers and Will Ferrell - all household film stars whose careers Michaels launched - as well as Tim Meadows, Molly Shannon, Andy Samberg, just a few names among the dozens of B-level funny people from his TV stable who were hot enough at one moment to earn a quick stab at the big screen. The point? For every Wayne's World there was a Coneheads; for every Tommy Boy, a Stuart Saves His Family. With his latest production, Baby Mama, the question isn't, "Do you go pay to see another SNL movie?" It's more like, "Is this going to be another A Night at the Roxbury?" Luckily for theatergoers, this time the producer has scored a winner, as he places Tina Fey ("30 Rock," SNL) in the role of Kate Holbrook, a 37-year-old career woman who keeps slapping the snooze button on her biological clock. Somehow she's actually getting worse at dating, so she decides to forego finding a suitable suitor and seeks out medical assistance in impregnation. Unfortunately, she finds out that she's unable to carry, so she decides to have her eggs ride it out in a surrogate.

Enter Angie (Amy Poehler) - a goofy, lazy, streetwise lady who's fine with carrying a child for money. The two get matched but are obviously mismatched, which naturally means they'll be spending more time together than they would like. Sure enough, Angie gets booted out of her common-law husband's hovel and ends up moving into Kate's upper-class abode. What comes next is textbook: the rube helps open up the stiff, the stiff helps direct the life of the rube, and we laugh the whole way to a satisfying ending... we hope.

Thankfully, this time our hopes are fulfilled, as there are many funny moments in the film. There's no question this movie at its core is hackneyed and clichéd. Odd couple comedy was old even before Laurel and Hardy started doing talkies. Plus, Michaels never plays outside the rules with stories, but he can take such blasé premises and then finds talent that injects something special into otherwise run-of-the-mill material. Poehler, for one, is such a natural comedian it's unnerving, as she can actually deliver her lesser lines, warming them to medium/hot funny with her expressions. Fey, meanwhile, is dynamite, so well-rounded in real life (she's a writer and producer, besides her acting turns) and can always manage to convey richness in any role. In fact, you could conceivably call it a (small) failure of the film; you never feel like Kate isn't going to figure everything out, regardless of her lack of dating success.

The supporting cast is wonderful, too - be it Michaels' clout or the continued support of SNL by major stars, but once again big actors come by and provide a bedrock foundation for the film: Steve Martin plays Kate's pony-tailed hippie boss; Sigourney Weaver makes a smart turn as the chilly director of the surrogate agency; and Greg Kinnear appears as Fey's love interest. All do fantastic work, helping carry this simple film to loftier heights. The writing is good enough, wavering between juvenile and smart, a common characteristic of writer-director Michael McCullers, a former - you guessed it - SNL writer who also happens to have crafted the Austin Powers trilogy. Word has it that Fey quietly polished the script, which makes sense, because the film always feels like it's hers. She is just such a complete being, and that is no disrespect to the generally more gut-busting Poehler, who's just as much worth the price of admission. But Fey can rely on her serious side to be funny, while her counterpart needs to mug, mug and mug some more. All in all, it's a funny movie, although you may be wondering why all these talented people were so willing to settle for what really isn't more than long-form sketch comedy. Oh wait...Mr. Michaels! You've done it again.

Ian Stark is a frequent TV and radio commentator on the film industry, and consults with private organizations on their collections. He is widely published on film and other arts/culture topics.