3.5 stars. Rating: PG-13, for sexual candor, profanity and occasional crude references
By Derrick Bang
Nonfiction “personal lifestyle”
books are an odd choice to adapt as a film comedy; the results can be unusual,
to say the least.
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| When a married guy is about to become a new father and wants some sage advice, who's he gonna call? The "Dude Patrol," of course: from left, Gabe (Rob Huebel), Patel (Amir Talai), Vic (Chris Rock) and Craig (Thomas Lennon). |
The most notorious example is
Woody Allen’s 1972 handling of David Reuben’s best-selling Everything You
Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask, but it’s by no means
alone. More recent examples include Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long’s 1998
dating manual, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: The Universal Don’ts of Dating, translated into a so-so romantic comedy with Kate Hudson and Matthew
McConaughey; and Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 parenting guide, Queen Bees and
Wannabes: Helping Your Daughters Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and Other
Realities of Adolescence, which became the 2004 Lindsey Lohan vehicle, Mean
Girls.
And could anything have been
stranger than the 2002 romantic dramedy made from William Powell’s 1970 counter-culture manual for revolution, The Anarchist Cookbook?
This eclectic company now has
been augmented by What to Expect When You’re Expecting, a romantic comedy
sorta-kinda suggested by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel’s revolutionary 1984 pregnancy
manual. The good news is that scripters Shauna Cross and Heather Hach have
concocted a reasonably entertaining ensemble comedy in the
intertwined-character mode of Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve.
Director Kirk Jones (Waking Ned
Devine, Nanny McPhee) capably rides herd on the large cast — most of
the time — granting more or less equal exposure to half a dozen sets of
characters and divergent narratives, which eventually intersect to one slight
degree or another. The result is enjoyable, occasionally hilarious — Chris
Rock, in particular, remains one of the funniest guys on the planet — and even
fitfully faithful to its source material.
But not perfect. A sidebar trip
to Ethiopia, when one couple adopts an African orphan, is much too grim for a
movie this frothy; even fleeting glimpses of poverty are enough to snuff the
rest of the film’s larkish vibe, despite Jones’ effort to lend dignity through
a ritualized adoption ceremony.
Financial means is an issue of
concern to a few of these characters, as well, and we never do get closure on
the crisis that results when one loses her job. That’s rather sloppy.
