Skip to main content


Baby Mama

NEW YORK (CNS) -- "Baby Mama" (Universal/Relativity) is a frequently funny but morally problematic romantic comedy about one woman's obsession with having a child.

Baby Mama (Universal/Relativity)

Baby Mama (Universal/Relativity)

Thirty-seven and single, hard-driving grocery chain executive Kate (Tina Fey), who has long put career ahead of family, has begun to hear her biological clock tolling. Discovering that adoption could take as long as five years, she tries artificial insemination. When this fails, she consults an obstetrician who tells her that her chances of conceiving are one in a million.

Not to be deterred, she turns to Chaffee (Sigourney Weaver), the imposing head of a surrogate mother agency, and is soon visited by the, shall we say, unpolished Angie (Amy Poehler), who, at the urging of deadbeat common-law husband Carl (Dax Shepard), eventually agrees to bear the child.

When she and Carl temporarily split, Kate takes in Angie as a roommate, with predictable "Odd Couple" consequences. Love, meanwhile, finds its way into Kate's life in the person of ex-lawyer -- now juice-bar owner -- Rob (Greg Kinnear).

Writer-director Michael McCullers' partially improvised feature debut, with a cast that also includes Steve Martin as Kate's dippy boss, abounds in comic energy. But for most of its running time, the film implicitly accepts current mores regarding fertility that are contrary to Catholic values.

Procedures such as artificial insemination and surrogate motherhood inevitably separate the unitive and procreative aspects of human sexuality and may remove procreation from its God-given context of committed marital love. Here, they are accorded the status of acceptable alternatives to natural conception, even if -- forgive the partial spoiler -- the ending manages to skirt most of these issues.

The film contains acceptability of surrogate parenting and artificial insemination, implied premarital sex, some crude and crass language, sexual and scatological humor, and a drug reference. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.


- - -

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Keywords:

NEWSLETTERS »

E-mail:       Zip Code: (ex. 90001)
Today's Headlines

Sign up for a roundup of the day's top stories. 5 days / week. See Sample

Rate This Article

Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

0 Comments

Leave a Comment

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment


Newsletter Sign Up

Daily Readings

Reading 1, Acts 2:1-11
When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when ... Read More

Psalm, Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
Bless Yahweh, my soul, Yahweh, my God, how great you are! ... Read More

Gospel, John 20:19-23
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the ... Read More

Reading 2, First Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13
Because of that, I want to make it quite clear to you that no ... Read More

Saint of the Day

May 19 Saint of the Day

St. Celestine
May 19: When the father of this Italian saint died, his good mother ... Read More