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April 23, 2010
Review - " The Back-up Plan " - (in theaters) By Roland Hansen
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please send an email to Critics@deltafilms.net
please send an email to Critics@deltafilms.net
The Back-up Plan
Directed by: Alan Poul
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin, Michaela Watkins, Eric
Christian Olson, Anthony Anderson, Noureen DeWulf
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in
possession of a good fortune must be in want of a baby.
Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) is finally getting her life in order. She left a
lucrative, high-profile job to open a Manhattan pet store and she lives
in a nice apartment with her disabled but darling Boston terrier. Now,
she is pursuing another important item on her "bucket list". She is
going to have a child. Zoe has decided that she has waited long
enough looking for Mr. Right to come along before she becomes a
mother. Her clock is ticking, and time is running out for her, so Zoe
makes an appointment with the doctor to become pregnant without
benefit of "a penis partner," as her wacky single-moms-to-be support
group put it. She is using her "back-up plan", which is artificial
insemination.
Zoe is inseminated in her doctor's office, and that very day meets Stan,
the most attractive man on planet Earth (Australian actor Alex
O'Loughlin, who boasts a Tarzan physique and crack comic instincts).
She has reasons to be skeptical about men, he has reasons to mistrust
women, and their courtship is complicated by Zoe's little secret. Her hot
buns in the oven (twins!) turn her into a hormonally fired-up sex
volcano one moment and a puke-spewing ball of queasiness the next.
Directed by: Alan Poul
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin, Michaela Watkins, Eric
Christian Olson, Anthony Anderson, Noureen DeWulf
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in
possession of a good fortune must be in want of a baby.
Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) is finally getting her life in order. She left a
lucrative, high-profile job to open a Manhattan pet store and she lives
in a nice apartment with her disabled but darling Boston terrier. Now,
she is pursuing another important item on her "bucket list". She is
going to have a child. Zoe has decided that she has waited long
enough looking for Mr. Right to come along before she becomes a
mother. Her clock is ticking, and time is running out for her, so Zoe
makes an appointment with the doctor to become pregnant without
benefit of "a penis partner," as her wacky single-moms-to-be support
group put it. She is using her "back-up plan", which is artificial
insemination.
Zoe is inseminated in her doctor's office, and that very day meets Stan,
the most attractive man on planet Earth (Australian actor Alex
O'Loughlin, who boasts a Tarzan physique and crack comic instincts).
She has reasons to be skeptical about men, he has reasons to mistrust
women, and their courtship is complicated by Zoe's little secret. Her hot
buns in the oven (twins!) turn her into a hormonally fired-up sex
volcano one moment and a puke-spewing ball of queasiness the next.
O'Loughlin is agreeable as Stan. He can be romantically expansive and uptight. When he gets nervous at the F-word —
future — he's visibly torn. For once, the commitment-shy dude has a darned good reason. And Lopez is so funny,
glowingly warm and awkwardly sexy as the hugely pregnant unwed lady, you wonder what she's doing in a trifling movie
like this. Jennifer Lopez shines in this role as does her co-star- Alex O'Loughlin. This movie is great for a rainy day or just
a fun Friday night. Lopez and O'Loughlin had very good "couple chemistry" as the relationship developed.
The members of Zoe's single-moms-by-choice support group are wickedly caricatured flakes, hippie types and man-
haters — they look like they wandered out of a Charles Addams cartoon. Stan gets the lowdown on the joys and oys of
fatherhood (mostly oys) from a frazzled playground dad (Anthony Anderson).
The supporting characters are just wonderful and hilarious. Everyone, from the two employees at the pet store, Anthony
Anderson, the gynecologist, The wacky support group, and especially the cute dog, just makes the movie that much more
enjoyable.
It’s a surprisingly solid and enjoyable rom-com that women will enjoy. Too many child-birthing scenes means that this
might not be the best movie for a teen to bring his date to if he’s hoping to score later.
The Back-up Plan is a sweet romantic
comedy! It not completely a formulaic
romantic comedy, as it has a twist. It deals
with how pregnant ladies having to tell he
new found partner about her being pregnant
with someone else's child. It is unusual for
lighthearted films to explore such a topic,
and I think The Back-up Plan has done
well in this aspect as it gives the film some
credibility in between the lighthearted
silliness. The Back-up Plan delivers laughs
and romance, and the ending is touching
which is an added bonus. The jokes for the
most part are tried-and-true. You may not
laugh all that much but there is very little to
offend. If you like the romance in romantic
comedies, then you will probably like
The Back-up Plan.
future — he's visibly torn. For once, the commitment-shy dude has a darned good reason. And Lopez is so funny,
glowingly warm and awkwardly sexy as the hugely pregnant unwed lady, you wonder what she's doing in a trifling movie
like this. Jennifer Lopez shines in this role as does her co-star- Alex O'Loughlin. This movie is great for a rainy day or just
a fun Friday night. Lopez and O'Loughlin had very good "couple chemistry" as the relationship developed.
The members of Zoe's single-moms-by-choice support group are wickedly caricatured flakes, hippie types and man-
haters — they look like they wandered out of a Charles Addams cartoon. Stan gets the lowdown on the joys and oys of
fatherhood (mostly oys) from a frazzled playground dad (Anthony Anderson).
The supporting characters are just wonderful and hilarious. Everyone, from the two employees at the pet store, Anthony
Anderson, the gynecologist, The wacky support group, and especially the cute dog, just makes the movie that much more
enjoyable.
It’s a surprisingly solid and enjoyable rom-com that women will enjoy. Too many child-birthing scenes means that this
might not be the best movie for a teen to bring his date to if he’s hoping to score later.
The Back-up Plan is a sweet romantic
comedy! It not completely a formulaic
romantic comedy, as it has a twist. It deals
with how pregnant ladies having to tell he
new found partner about her being pregnant
with someone else's child. It is unusual for
lighthearted films to explore such a topic,
and I think The Back-up Plan has done
well in this aspect as it gives the film some
credibility in between the lighthearted
silliness. The Back-up Plan delivers laughs
and romance, and the ending is touching
which is an added bonus. The jokes for the
most part are tried-and-true. You may not
laugh all that much but there is very little to
offend. If you like the romance in romantic
comedies, then you will probably like
The Back-up Plan.