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Baby Mama is a cute film with a few good laughs and some essentially entertaining comedy. It's by no means going to be "movie of the year;" but it isn't a flop, either. Baby Mama gets its strength from some excellent acting and the plot moves along at a good pace. My basic regret is that it could have been so much funnier than it was. It is an ambitious film, too, in that it tackles a serious issue through comedy. Sadly, it doesn't completely accomplish either goal. Sigh.

When the action begins, career woman Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey) realizes that her biological clock is ticking fast and she doesn't have the one thing to make her feel truly happy and complete--a baby. Everywhere Kate goes, she sees babies and she adores them. Eventually, Kate finds out that she can't have a baby even through artificial means; and then she goes to a fancy agency run by Chaffee Bicknell (Sigourney Weaver) to find a surrogate mother.

Naturally, Chaffee Bicknell reassures Kate that the $100,000 fee for getting a top "quality" woman to carry her baby for nine months is well worth it--and then Chaffee steers Kate right toward a somewhat sleazy woman named Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler) who is posing as a model woman to carry another woman's baby. Angie's common-law husband/boyfriend Carl (Dax Shepard) isn't any more sophisticated or much better than Angie.

Time goes by and Kate and Angie live together when Angie has a break up with Carl. This provides mild comic relief with the predictable conflicts two people face when one (Kate) is a highly educated, straight laced and uptight career woman while the other (Angie) lives for singing along with her "American Idol" video game while munching constantly on potato chips, eating all types of junk food and even drinking! And yes, there's a bit more comic relief one night when Angie and Kate go out dancing--but it's just not as funny as it could have been. Sigh.

Of course, the plot can go anywhere from here. Will Kate's baby arrangement work out? Will Angie and Carl ever divulge their huge secret to Kate? What about Angie's pregnancy--how does Kate help out with that? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch the movie and find out!

Look for a great performance by Tina Fey as Kate; and Greg Kinnear gives a terrific performance as Rob, a guy Kate becomes romantically involved with. Steve Martin also fits in well as Barry, Kate's boss at the health-food company.

Overall, Baby Mama gets a pat on the back from me for some good aspects--I liked the acting and the plot moves along well. However, as a comedy it falls short of my expectations although the subplots involving Carl and Angie's "secret" and Kate's romance with Rob are fairly well done. Take in this movie on a rainy afternoon if you've already seen some better films first. Baby Mama is one flick you should see--but only if you get a completely free opening in your schedule. Walk, but don't run to see this film.