Review of What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012) by Thomas W — 13 Sep 2012
A Love Actually ensemble film for the expectant parents demographic that is nowhere near as good or entertaining -- on any level -- as that joyous, British, holiday-themed, love-fest which is impossible to watch without cracking a smile.
While the majority of the characters in Love Actually are likable -- which helps add to the film's charm -- the same cannot be said about the characters in What to Expect When You're Expecting.
Most of the jokes here are made AT someone as opposed to WITH someone and so some of the humor feels cruel and/or mocking. As the entire film is comprised of expecting parents, nearly all of the humor has been tried and tested before and so none of this comes out as fresh.
There are still laughs to be had and experienced but none of it feels new. Adding to this, most of the female characters become stereotypes and their imbalanced hormones are supposed to be hysterical (like never before .
.. yawn). Of course some of the character pairings work better than others and some are not even necessary. A bitchy The Biggest Loser-esque trainer (Cameron Diaz - Charlie's Angels, In Her Shoes, Being John Malkovich) and her male Dancing With the Stars-esque parter (Matthew Morrison - Glee, Dan in Real Life, Music and Lyrics) create quite a stir when it is revealed she is pregnant on the show.
Perky perfectionist and wannabe-Mom Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games, W, Slither) and her husband (Ben Falcone - Bridesmaids) unwittingly find themselves "competing" in the baby department with his own father (Dennis Quiad - Frenquency, The Day After Tomorrow, Far From Heaven) and his new trophy wife (Brooklyn Decker - Just Go with It, Battleship).
A certain Jennifer Lopez (The Wedding Planner, Out of Sight, Maid in Manhattan) and her uncertain husband (Rodrigo Santoro - 300, "Lost", Love Actually) are prepping to adopt a baby from Ethiopia and a young pair of non-daters (Anna Kendrick of Up in the Air and Chace Crawford of "Gossip Girl") end up with a surprising consequence after a one-night stand.
A group of men collectively referred to as the "Dude Crew" -- who take the kids to the park when their wives work -- is supposed to be hilarious but I found them to be tedious and they tried way too hard to be funny and non-chalant.
There was a decent idea here; but it isn't delivered (ah ... darn the pun).
This review of What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012) was written by Thomas W on 13 Sep 2012.
What to Expect When You're Expecting has generally received mixed reviews.
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