Not Coming to a Theater Near You
There are things you do hate, Lord. Perfume-smellin’ things, lacy things, things with curly hair.
There are things you do hate, Lord. Perfume-smellin’ things, lacy things, things with curly hair.
It may just be residual goodwill towards Tina Fey on account of 30 Rock, or the fact that I saw it on my birthday, but I really enjoyed this film. Director Michael McCullers takes the burgeoning pregnancy-angst-comedy genre and makes it into something rather more subtle and adult than Knocked Up or Juno. Fey and Poehler’s trademark personae are both reined in to a certain extent — Fey is less cutting and Poehler less broad than usual — but in this case that’s a good thing, and both show unexpected range and appeal. (After seeing this, I think Fey could probably be Sandra Bullock if she wanted to; hopefully she doesn’t.) Especially welcome is the way the movie gestures towards political issues — class conflict, gentrification, environmentalism, etc. — without either travestying them or using them as a lever to secure audience sympathy: they’re just part of the background of 21st century life, often ignored, sometimes unignorable.
Plus: it has the funniest performance by Steve Martin in roughly a decade. Which isn’t really saying a lot, but still.
by Evan Kindley | Source: 35mm print
29 Apr 2008 12:32 PM | Submit Comment
