I was treated to a sneak preview of the new movie What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Plum Organics earlier this week. You know this was a big deal because they confiscated my cell phone on the way in.
I wasn’t sure if you’d care what I thought about the movie, but since Whitney wants to know… and this is how I communicate with Whitney, here goes:
I have occasionally wondered what it would be like to turn The Rookie Mom’s Handbook into a movie, and I found myself considering it again during Monday’s screening. Our book is a non-fiction list of challenges and tips for new moms to help them make the transition into motherhood more fun. Starring Tina Fey and Amy Pohler or — sorry, ladies my own age! — younger gals like Emma Stone and Kristen Stewart. The protagonists would be thrown together in Mom’s Group struggling to find their new normal via our activities and advice. Hilarity would ensue. Comedy for sure.
Apparently the publishers of the infamous What to Expect series thought the same thing because they follow a random mix of women on their journey to birth from flat-belly-dom. While the movie is cute and I laughed out loud a few times, it was trying way too hard to be all things to all people.
So, here’s what you should expect:
- Too many storylines. A forced attempt to demonstrate every woman’s journey, which would be impossible anyway.
- Too many cheesy attempts at connecting the characters in meaningless ways (like Love Actually or any of its holiday-themed derivatives featuring Edward James Olmos).
- Some funny bits. Some almost tears.
Most of my giggles were during the scenes with Chris Rock and his dads’ group cohort. LOL funny. Too bad, because I don’t think I could drag my husband to this chick flick (and he came to opening night of the Sex and the City movie!).
I left the theater wondering if anyone but a person with a new child would even be amused at this sort of humor. Check out this preview which has all the best parts and let me know what you think.
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Bottom line: Go with your mom’s group (Tuesday June 5 at noon) or take your baby during a matinee but not babysitter-worthy.
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So, do I need to give up on a Rookie Mom’s Handbook movie? Would you see it? What should it be like?
I saw a preview focusing entirely on the Chris Rock Dad’s group portions. I thought it was hilarious, but had second thoughts about seeing the movie when I learned that the preview was misleading and the Dad’s group was a relatively minor part of the movie. The rest didn’t seem that exciting. Your review confirms that impression.
My husband and I were pleasantly suprised by how much we enjoyed the movie, actually. I know it directly relates to the stage of life we are in (2-1/2 yr old daughter and I am 38 weeks pregnant with our 2nd). So there were so many aspects of the movie that rang true and hit home – we literally laughed til we were crying, which does not happen often for us. The humor was ‘clean’ and it was refreshing to enjoy a movie that didn’t rely on gross humor…though there were some parts that had me crying. Definitely not for everyone, but if you are in this phase of life, it’s certainly worth a good laugh (at yourself!)