''Baby Mama'' is a 2008 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film written and directed by

Michael McCullers Michael McCullers (born 1971) is an American screenwriter who specializes in writing comedies. Early life A native of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, McCullers attended Indian Springs School which is a private high school in Birmingham, Alabama. He w ...

in his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

and starring

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

Amy Poehler Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy trou ...

Greg Kinnear Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''As Good as It Gets'' (1997). Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, including ''Sabrina'' (199 ...

Dax Shepard Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker and podcast host. Since 2018, he has hosted '' Armchair Expert'', a podcast that interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives. Shepard h ...

Romany Malco Romany relates or may refer to: *The Romani people or Romany people, also known as Gypsies *Romani language or Romany language, the language of the Romani people *"Romany", the pseudonym of a broadcaster and writer of Romani descent, George Bramwel ...

Maura Tierney Maura Therese Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on the sitcom ''NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), Abby Lockhart on the medical drama '' ER'' (1999–2009), ...

Holland Taylor Holland Virginia Taylor (born January 14, 1943) is an American actress. She won the 1999 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Judge Roberta Kittleson on ABC's ''The Practice'' (1998–2003). F ...

, with

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...

, and

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...

Plot

Successful single businesswoman Kate Holbrook has always prioritized her career over her personal life. Now at age 37, she finally decides to have her own child, but her plans are dampened when she discovers she has a minuscule chance of becoming pregnant because of a T-shaped uterus. Also denied the chance to adopt, Kate hires an immature, obnoxious,

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.surrogate mother Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregnan ...

. After learning from Chaffee Bicknell, the steely head of their surrogacy center, that Angie has become pregnant, Kate prepares for motherhood in her own typically driven fashion, reading childcare books, baby-proofing the apartment and researching top pre-schools. However, the executive's well-organized strategy is upended when Angie shows up at her door, homeless. Their conflicting personalities put them at odds as Kate learns first-hand about balancing motherhood and career and also dates the owner of a local blended-juice cafe, Rob Ackerman. Unknown to Kate, Angie's in-vitro fertilization procedure had failed and she is feigning the pregnancy, hoping to ultimately run off with her payment. Eventually, she starts to regret lying about being pregnant, but she continually puts off confessing. When Angie gets an ultrasound, she discovers she is indeed pregnant. Realizing the baby is her own—with her

common-law husband Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, marriage, informal marriage, or marriage by habit and repute, is a legal framework where a couple may be considered married without having formally registered their relation as a civi ...

Carl, from whom she is separated—Angie is forced to confess at Kate's baby shower. When Kate explains to Angie that the pregnancy test was supposed to be taken two weeks after the procedure, so the baby could still belong to her, a wedge is driven between them. A court hearing determines that the baby is Angie's, and Angie impassionedly apologizes to Kate. As the women meet face-to-face after the proceedings, Angie's water breaks and Kate rushes her to the hospital, then passes out during the birth. As she wakes up, the doctor supervising Angie's pregnancy tells Kate that she's two months pregnant (the result of her relationship with Rob). After receiving the news, she visits Angie, who is holding her new baby daughter Stef, named for

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

. Kate forgives Angie and they become best friends, ultimately changing each other for the better. Angie and Kate raise their children and are in a sister-like relationship one year later at Stef's first-birthday party. It is revealed that Kate and Rob are parents of a baby daughter and are engaged. Although he does not reunite with Angie, Carl stays close to his daughter and takes parenting classes. The final scene shows Angie and Kate sitting in front of a television set with their children, watching ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...

'' cartoons.

Cast

as Katherine "Kate" Holbrook - Mother *

as Angela "Angie" Ostrowski - Surrogate mother *

as Rob Ackerman - SuperFruity cafe owner *

as Carl Loomis - Angie's 'Common Law' husband *

as Chaffee Bicknell - Surrogate agent *

as Barry Waterman - Kate's boss - Round Earth Organic Market *

as Oscar Priyan - Doorman *

as Caroline - Kate's sister *

as Rose Holbrook - Kate's mother *

Stephen Mailer Stephen McLeod Mailer (born March 10, 1966) is an American stage and screen actor. His credits include appearances in films like ''Cry-Baby'', ''Baby Mama'', and '' Another Woman'' and the television shows ''Gilmore Girls'', '' Law & Order: Speci ...

as Dan *

Siobhan Fallon Hogan Siobhan Fallon Hogan (pronounced , born May 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. She has appeared in films such as ''Men in Black'', '' Forrest Gump'', ''The Negotiator'', '' Holes'', ''Daddy Day Care'', ''Going in Style'', and '' The H ...

as The Birthing Teacher * Kevin Collins as Rick - Round Earth employee *

Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Forte is known for being a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (2002–2010), a recurring character on the show leading to a feature film ada ...

as Scott - Kate's former boyfriend *

Denis O'Hare Denis Patrick Seamus O'Hare (born January 17, 1962) is an American actor, singer, and author noted for his award-winning performances in the plays '' Take Me Out'' and ''Sweet Charity'', as well as portraying vampire king Russell Edgington on HB ...

as Dr. Manheim *

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...

as The Stroller Salesman *

James Rebhorn James Robert Rebhorn (September 1, 1948 – March 21, 2014) was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. At the time of his death, he had recurring roles in the series '' White Collar'' and ''Hom ...

as Judge *

John Hodgman John Kellogg Hodgman (born June 3, 1971) is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as '' The Areas of My Expertise'', ''More Information Than You Require'', and '' That Is All'', he is known for ...

as Fertility Specialist * Thomas McCarthy as Kate's Date *

Jason Mantzoukas Jason Mantzoukas (, el, Ιάσων Μαντζούκας; born December 18, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer and podcaster. He is best known for his recurring role as Rafi in the FX comedy series ''The League'', and as one of the th ...

as Jonothan - Surrogate father *

Dave Finkel Dave Finkel (born May 15, 1970) is an American television producer, actor, and screenwriter who has worked on many successful television shows. He often works with his screenwriting partner Brett Baer. Writing work * ''New Girl'' (2011-2018 ...

as Gay Couple *

Brian Stack Brian Stack may refer to: * Brian Stack (comedian) (born 1967), American actor, comedian, and writer * Brian P. Stack (born 1966), New Jersey senator * Brian Stack (prison officer) (1935/36–1984), shot by the IRA See also * Brian Stock (born 19 ...

as Dave

Reception

Critical reception

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey by David Shankbone

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 166 reviews, with an average rating of 6.20/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "''Baby Mama'' is a lightweight, predictable comedy that ekes by on the strength of its performers." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 55 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Box office

In its opening weekend, ''Baby Mama'' grossed $17,407,110 in 2,543 theaters in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, ranking #1 at the box office and averaging $6,845 per theater. ''Baby Mama'' eventually grossed a total of $64,163,648. Its production budget was $30 million.

Home media

''Baby Mama'' was released on September 9, 2008 on both

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

. Extras included commentary with writer/director Michael McCullers and cast members Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, ''From Conception to Delivery: The Making of Baby Mama'' featurette, an alternate ending, deleted scenes, and ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'': Legacy of Laughter.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Lorne Michaels 2008 films 2000s buddy films 2008 romantic comedy films 2000s pregnancy films American female buddy films American romantic comedy films 2000s English-language films Films set in Pennsylvania Films set in Philadelphia Films shot in New York City Films shot in Philadelphia American pregnancy films Relativity Media films Films about surrogacy Films produced by Lorne Michaels Universal Pictures films Films with screenplays by Michael McCullers 2008 directorial debut films 2000s female buddy films 2000s American films