Baby MamaMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Baby Mama."

Gifts + Promos

The Vow Free Gift

Buy tickets & receive a FREE 3-Month Love Forecast from Astrology.com!

Fandango Bucks

Send your sweetheart the gift of movies this Valentine’s Day!

Journey Sweeps

Enter for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Nicaragua!

Interactive Oscar Ballot

Who's taking home the Oscar? Cast your vote & challenge your friends on Facebook!

Need Help?
So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 55 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 Iffy for 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 75
    Boston Globe | Wesley Morris

    In this era of Apatow and Ferrell and Rogen and Wilson, of men monopolizing movie comedy, Baby Mama feels absurdly momentous, and even political. Fey and Poehler aren't just taking back control of their bodies. They're taking back control of their profession. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Though the competition hasn't exactly been stiff, Fey and Poehler may well be the best female comedy duo since Lucy and Ethel. Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Although the big picture itself gets mushy, the small moments, especially involving Fey, are sharp. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Fey is a delight to watch throughout. Read full review

  • 60
    The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen

    Baby Boom serves up plenty of smart, knowing laughs early on, but by the time it hits the third act (or would that be trimester?), it barely crawls to the finish line. Read full review

  • 60
    Los Angeles Times | Carina Chocano

    The movie hardly allows itself any sharp moments at all -- it's much too sweet-natured to be cruel, and much too cheerful to be angry. It probably could have pushed a few more buttons, but Baby Mama aims to please and succeeds. Read full review

  • 50
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    The show is redeemed by its co-stars, up to a point. They struggle womanfully, and sometimes successfully, to find truth in the script's silly symphony of false notes. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    You could blast for it, and you still won't find 30 uninterrupted seconds of truth in Baby Mama. The characters are lies. Their emotional workings are lies. The jokes are based on lies about human behavior. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    The film never comes fully to term, as it were: the visual style is sitcom functional, and even the zippiest jokes fall flat because of poor timing. But, much like the prickly, talented Ms. Fey, it pulls you in with a provocative and, at least in current American movies, unusual mix of female intelligence, awkwardness and chilled-to-the-bone mean. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    For those who crave mannerisms and shtick and like their jokes set up and knocked out with plenty of arrows and quote marks, Baby Mama may fall flat. But audiences alive to the modest charms of its take on female friendship will be rewarded with at least a few quiet chuckles. Read full review

View more reviews for Baby Mama on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ SNL gals deliver hilarious comedy for teens+.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this comedy is both irreverent and candid in dealing with the topics of infertility, pregnancy, and surrogacy (none of which are probably at the top of teens' "funny subjects" list, so there's a chance they won't be interested, despite the presence of Saturday Night Live veterans Tina Fey and Amy Poehler). Characters make fun of a woman's inability to get pregnant, and one treats pregnancy as a big pain. There's some "white trash" stereotyping involved with Poehler's character, but Angie ultimately proves to be a decent soul. Expect some drinking, references to drug use, and a fair amount of swearing (nothing stronger than "s--t") and product placement mixed in with the plentiful laughs.
  • Families can talk about who this movie's target audience is. Is it teens? Older women with children? How can you tell? How is the movie different from most comedies aimed at women? Families can also discuss surrogacy. Why does it seem like such a controversial subject? How were the filmmakers able to mine it for humor? Also, do you think the movie is making any specific points about the "class war"? What do Kate and Angie have in common? How are they different?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: All of the characters are flawed, though most of them have good intentions at heart. Kate frequently comes across as judgmental and a little bit snobby, while Angie's irresponsible "white trash" background is played up for laughs -- though, to the movie's credit, she has more depth than similar characters in other films. Characters deceive each other, attempt blackmail, and more. A subplot involves a big corporation coming into a small neighborhood and possibly hurting local business. New age philosophies are mocked (mostly gently). All but one of the central cast members are Caucasian.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: Two women hurl insults at each other during a massive screaming argument. A little bit of slapstick physical comedy.
  • sex false3 Sex: No nudity, and not much beyond kissing is shown. But there are some crass references to baby-making, including a shot in which Poehler's character spreads her legs for artificial insemination. Words like "horny" are used. A couple spends the night together after a first date.
  • language false3 Language: Language includes "damn," "a--hole," a handful of "s--t"s, and one "effin" as a stand-in for "f--k." Some name-calling.
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Product placements galore, including Luna Bars, Dr. Pepper, Tastykakes, Red Bull, Forbes Life, baby books, video games, and Jamba Juice. Kate works for a Whole Foods-like company called Round Earth.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Social drinking -- including one scene in which a woman who's purportedly pregnant sneaks a few swigs of hard liquor at a nightclub. Several jokes about recreational drug use.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

4.0

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

… made me laugh from beginning to end. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

Read more movie reviews at Movies.com

Baby Mama Featured Trailers + Video Clips

Facebook Movie Fans

Fan Fandango on Facebook