So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 41 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 OK for kids 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

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

  • 75
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    The writing is sharp and the performances bright, and if you've been through the forced gestational march known as pregnancy, there are knowing laughs to be had. If you haven't, do yourself a favor and stay away. Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    As sociology, it's skin-deep, but if you're a parent or preparing to be one, you might see yourself in a few of these folks and have a good time doing so. Read full review

  • 63
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    A cheerful comedy with just enough dark moments to create the illusion it's really about something. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Sheri Linden

    Amid the would-be and actual laughs, the screenplay tries to drum up drama, but every disagreement and tension is treated superficially and summarily resolved. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    In the end, What to Expect, isn't an inspired movie, but a manufactured one, but one with some laughs and some moments. Plus, it has Chris Rock, who gets to liven things up as the ringleader of a beleaguered fathers' group. Read full review

  • 50
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Carrie Rickey

    So although this multicharacter stew has a tasty morsel or two, in the aggregate it makes one long for the comparative complexity and subtlety of "Valentine's Day." Read full review

  • 45
    Movieline |

    In the realms of pregnancy comedy, What to Expect When You're Expecting doesn't find new laughs, just layers on attempts at the tried-and-true ones. Read full review

  • 38
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Morning sickness afflicts most of the potential mommies. For me, the movie itself triggered the vomiting. Read full review

  • 25
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    What audiences should expect is a tone-deaf, superficial, charmless ensemble rom-com, focused on five attractive, but uninteresting, couples. Read full review

  • 20
    New York Daily News | Joe Neumaier

    What you don't expect is how bad almost all of it is. Read full review

View more reviews for What to Expect When You're Expecting on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 15+ All-star cast headlines bawdy, inconsistently funny comedy.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that What to Expect When You're Expecting is a fairly funny but also formulaic ensemble comedy with little resemblance to the same-named line of pregnancy health books it was inspired by. There are plenty of references to the symptoms and complaints of pregnancy, for sure -- expect litanies about "cankles" and bladder issues and morning sickness, much of which won't appeal to teens and younger -- but the movie is mostly about the couples featured in it and their adventures in baby-making and child-rearing. Cliches run rife (dads-to-be are scared about the prospect of fatherhood; moms are pushy and overeager), as do swearing (mostly "s--t," "ass," and the like) and sexual references/humor (though there's not too much actual action).
  • Families can talk about how Hollywood portrays parents. Do movies typically fall back on cliches when it comes to parenting roles? Why?
  • What is the main message that What to Expect When You're Expecting relays about pregnancy and parenting? Do you think it glamorizes them?
  • Parents, talk to your kids about how movies portray big milestones -- graduations, weddings, births -- and how those portrayals stack up against real life. Why do movies exaggerate the ups and downs of life?
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: Most of the storylines promote the message that to be successful at co-parenting and relationships, couples must communicate with each other. While there are plenty of complaints about being pregnant and having a baby (as well as some sugarcoating of the joys and challenges of pregnancy), there are many discussions about the rewards of being a new parent, too.
  • rolemodels true2 Positive role models: Many of the parents-to-be are warm, embracing of their journey, honest, and eager to learn. That said, there's some stereotyping, in that dads are portrayed as worried and hesitant about fatherhood, while moms are exuberant and excited. In real life, both genders have doubts and fears.
What to watch for
  • violence false1 Violence: Some loud arguments between friends, couples, and relatives. One father makes digs at his son, leading to a face-off that ends up with a golf cart in a pool.
  • sex false3 Sexy stuff: Lots of talk about sex (or needing to have sex to make babies), but no nudity. A few make-out scenes presumably lead to sex. Brief discussions of sex positions and one sex act. Many references to body parts, including "t-ts" (a kid shouts this out) and vaginas. Kissing and flirting; a character flashes a photo of his girlfriend, who's wearing a revealing bikini top.
  • language false3 Language: Language includes one use of "f--k," plus frequent use of "s--t" and words like "d--k," "ass," "p---y," "bitches," "laid," slang terms for genitals, "hell," "crap," "damn," "goddamn," "oh my God," etc.
  • consumerism false4 Consumerism: Plenty of both subtle and not-so-subtle name-dropping and label-flashing, including Budweiser, NASCAR, Lacoste, Apple, Fisher-Price, Univision, and the ubiquitous Mini-Cooper and Delta Airlines.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Mostly social drinking, though it tips over into drunkenness in some scenes. One character has an outdoor bar that he calls "Margaritaville," and he likes to break out the liquor, day or night.
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.

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