Photo by: smartcine.com
Adopting only the title from Heidi Murkoff’s best-selling pregnancy guide “What To Expect When You’re Expecting,” the eponymous film is the latest in a glut of ensemble rom-coms that coast on star power over story. Though the film offers some laughs and heartwarming moments, its ensemble cast and limited screen time don’t allow all characters to get their due.
The film chronicles the journey of five couples: there’s weight-loss show host Jules (Cameron Diaz) and her partner Evan (Matthew Morrison, Glee), who find themselves arguing over circumcision after a short fling during a Dancing With The Stars-esque competition. Then there’s Wendy (Elizabeth Banks), a maternity store owner who extols the joys of pregnancy until she finally conceives with husband Gary (Ben Falcone) and predictably endures all the worst symptoms.
Not to be outdone, Ramsey (Dennis Quaid), Gary’s CB
To its credit, “What To Expect” tries to incorporate some real-life drama along the way, but the impact of these events hardly have time to sink in before we are whisked off to revel in the wacky hijinks of another couple.
Quite a bit of the film’s laughs comes from the baby daddy group helping Alex to prepare him for the reality of fatherhood. The group, led by Vic (Chris Rock), spends a good portion of its screen time moping about their lost freedom and worshiping eternal bachelor Davis (Joe Manganiello), who winds up with a long-lost kid of his own. Things seem to ring a little false when Vic tells Alex that though having kids is hard, he wouldn’t change anything.
The ensemble cast approach of “What to Expect” has its benefits: We get a glimpse at the different experiences women can have (Wendy’s unhinged mood swings, Skyler’s enviable ease); at the same time, we never really get to go in-depth with any of these couples. Director Kirk Jones (“Nanny McPhee”) is also careful to skirt around controversial subjects; the costliness of in vitro fertilization is barely touched on, while the ideas of surrogacy or abortion are avoided altogether. Similarly, “non-traditional” family types like gay couples or single parents are ignored, which is a shame given the progress that has been made on the small screen in mainstream comedies like Modern Family.
There’s fertile ground (no pun intended) that the movie could have explored; perhaps a focus on the less cartoonish couples like Rosie and Marco, or Alex and Holly, could have provided the emotional depth the film sorely lacks. Instead, we’re left with a jumbled mess of a movie with comically competent actors who, despite their best attempts, are never quite able to deliver.
