I have spoken recently about large ensemble casts and how if orchestrated correctly they can work incredibly well, Avengers Assemble being a great example, and I began watching this film with the same high hopes (well not exactly the same high hopes as it is a rom-com but you get the jist). Cameron Diaz, Matthew Morrison, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Joe Manganellio, the list of A-List stars goes on and realistically by bringing them all together they should be able to create the on-screen magic we expect from them. Well expect away because you won’t find magic here.
Based on various samplings’ from the best-selling pregnancy guide-book of the same name by Heidi Murkoff, the film centres around five interlocking couples whose lives are changed and relationships strained by first-time parenting. Unfortunately the finalised relationship between the film and its audience is also strained.
From start to finish ‘What To Expect When You’re Expecting’ is packed full of clichés, poorly written and obvious plot-lines and an overall feeling of disconnection, not merely with the interlocking stories but with the characters themselves. Everyone is given ample screen-time to sell themselves but there is an all round failure to do so, with even the loudest of performers (Chris Rock) falling into the background. Whether it be due to the director Kirk Jones’ inexperience (his only notable accolade being the 2005 film Nanny McPhee) or the script-writers inability to transfer best-seller to chart-topper, all I can say is that when the end of the film rolls by in its cotton-candy twin stroller, you neither root for or remember anyone.
The film does have its moments. The admiration for fitness freak and single-man Davis (Manganellio) from ‘The Dudes’ is hilarious, Elizabeth Banks and Rebel Wilson’s comedic timing is as brilliant as ever, and the effortlessness of Miss Kendrick continues. But in a film that is over an hour and a half long, with a cast this good, a few moments is just not good enough. Rather than taking advantage of the excellent material in Murkoff’s book and the eclectic mix of stars, and making it glow brighter than a lady in her second trimester, manages to create a film that can only be described as amateur.
While some stars of late have decided to escape the ever-turning whirlpool of the poorly constructed rom-com world, McConaughey instantly coming to mind, and show us the ‘skills they have to pay the bills’, others seems to be caught in the current. I just hope someone throws them a rope soon because a world that includes ‘What To Expect When You’re Expecting’ is a world where career’s go to die.
Selling Point – Umm…The cast is lovely to look at. See…
Related material – For romance films actually worth a watch check out my Valentines Day Article.
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