Movie Review: What to Expect When You're Expecting

Matthew Morrison and Cameron Diaz

What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)
Directed by: Kirk Jones
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Ben Falcone, Matthew Morrison, Anna Kendrick, Dennis Quaid and Chris Rock

I reviewed this film for Next Projection.

Hollywood is known for churning out countless sequels and book adaptations in the hopes of striking box office gold. For decades, many filmgoers and critics alike have bemoaned the lack of originality in the majority of mainstream flicks. However, it would appear that Hollywood has hit a new low -- it has resorted to patching together a script based on a self-help pregnancy manual written nearly 30 years ago.

Universally celebrated for it's ability to accurately chronicle the highs and lows of pregnancy, Heidi Murkoff's wildly successful 1984 tome is a bestseller due to its humorous but honest glimpse of the changes women go through over the span of nine months -- as well as the aftermath and how it affects your relationship.

But a successful self-help book does not make for a strong screenplay. Shauna Cross and Heather Hatch struggle to weave together intertwining stories involving no less than five couples. The result is a series of soulless vignettes that fail to come together as a cohesive narrative. It's like watching the birthing-babies edition of Valentine's Day or New Years Eve.

Chris Rock with Rodrigo Santoro

There's freelance photographer Holly (Jennifer Lopez) who has come to terms with the fact that she's unable to conceive and plans to adopt a baby from Ethiopia with her reluctant husband, Alex (Rodrigo Santoro). Meanwhile, reality show host Jules (Cameron Diaz) finds out she's been impregnated by her Celebrity Dance Factor co-star, Evan (Matthew Morrison). Twenty-something Rosie (Anna Kendrick) discovers she's pregnant after a one-night stand with a former high school crush (Chace Crawford) and dreads telling him the news. Wendy (Elizabeth Banks), the Type-A personality behind the breastfeeding boutique, Breast Choice, is finally expecting a little one with her husband, Gary (Ben Falcone), after years of failed attempts. There's also Gary's egotistical father, Ramsey (Dennis Quaid) and his newly pregnant young wife (Brooklyn Decker) thrown into the mix. On top of all that there's a "dude's group" of fathers, led by Chris Rock, who get together at the local park with their kids and talk about the hardships of parenting.

What to Expect When You're Expecting is an uneven and episodic Hollywood vehicle designed as a quick studio cash-grab. Assembling together a large group of both A- and B-list actors fails to lift the material above its shallow, superficial surface. Anyone looking towards this flick for anything even remotely resembling a humorous angle on the hardships endured by expectant parents will be sorely disappointed. It glosses over the very issues -- infertility and debates over circumcision -- that made Murkoff's book such a resounding success. And any script that includes Lopez sobbing the line "I'm the one who can't do the one thing that a woman is supposed to do" is both cringe-worthy and offensive.

Director Kirk Jones continuously hops between his large cast, rarely taking the time to linger on one storyline for more than five minutes at a time. As a result, audiences are never given the chance to relate to any of the five main plot threads. For a movie that should have been a witty take on parental sacrifice it instead plays out like a stale sitcom. The laughs are incredibly few and far between as the script bounces between each and every one of its increasingly aggravating characters.

In the end, all issues and disagreements are happily resolved as everyone embraces -- and perfectly adapts to -- their new roles as parents.

FINAL GRADE: D

Movie Review: 50/50

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen

50/50 (2011)
Directed By: Jonathan Levine
Written By: Will Reiser
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anjelica Huston

There are some people who, like myself, tend to avoid movies that centre around a fatal illness. These films are usually either one of two extremes -- far too devastating to watch or so sappy and self-important that you can barely sit through its running time. 50/50 is neither, thankfully. Instead it's a quietly intelligent look at one young man's cancer diagnosis and how he resolves to remain upbeat (and somewhat aloof) while undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a 27-year-old radio producer with a slacker best friend (Seth Rogen) and a distant and self-involved girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard), finds out he has a rare spinal cancer and that his odds for survival is deadlocked at a 50% chance.

The script by Will Reiser is based on his own battle with cancer six years ago and addresses how he and Rogen, his real-life buddy, dealt with the diagnosis. Gordon-Levitt is more than up for the challenge of filling Reiser's shoes onscreen, delivering a subtle and nuanced performance that is an early frontrunner for an Oscar nomination.

Adam couldn't be any more of an average joe -- the eternal "nice-guy" who enjoys his simple, regular life and its lack of complications. His "everyman" quality makes his diagnosis all the more heartbreaking, especially considering the insensitive manner in which it is delivered by a distracted doctor.

50/50 is a perfect blend of light-hearted comedy and a look at the sadness and fear that accompanies an illness that may very well result in death. Once faced with his own mortality, Adam begins to make some changes in his life -- inspired in part by his eternally optimistic pal, Kyle, and his new young, med-student therapist, Katherine (Anna Kendrick). With his concerns over his health and his deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend, Rachel, Adam comes to lean on the support offered by Kyle and, especially, Katherine more than ever. However, it's the scenes that Gordon-Levitt shares with Anjelica Huston as his mother where the film really soars. Both give such lovely performances that it's hard not to wish that the script had required them to share more screen time together. Although her role is much smaller than the rest of the cast, Huston's performance is the definition of a perfect supporting role.

The only real flaw in the film is the two main female leads. They are devoid of any real personality -- Howard portrays another variation on the bitchy character she recently played in The Help and Kendrick is still hanging onto the vulnerable smart-aleck characterization she used to earn herself an Oscar nomination for Up in the Air a couple of years ago. However, the film is all about Adam and his friendship with Kyle and director Levine gave both Gordon-Levitt and Rogen the freedom to ad-lib on occasion, which only adds to their chemistry.

While the notion of a lighter, more comedic look at cancer may turn some people off from seeing 50/50, they should know that the movie is also filled with moments of genuine despair and anger over the diagnosis. Watching Adam bond with two older men also suffering from cancer (played by Philip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer) is one of the highlights.

50/50 is a feel-good film that will make you laugh and cry in equal measure without falling into the trap of being overly sentimental. Certain scenes will stay with you long after the closing credits.

FINAL GRADE: B+