The Babymakers (2012)
Studio: Millennium Entertainment
Theatrical Release: August 3, 2012
DVD Release: September 18, 2012
Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
R
Review by James Klein
The Babymakers basic plot is not the type of film I would care to watch. A young couple struggling with the fact that they can't have a baby. Yawn. Sounds like a crappy sitcom. And baby humor...I'll be honest, movies about babies and kids are almost always awful, recycling the same old stale jokes. But once I saw that Jay Chandrasekhar was at the helm as not just director but also co-star and the cast is rounded out with smaller roles by the gang from the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, I was willing to set aside my baby prejudice and give this one a chance.
Paul Schneider (best known for co-starring on TV's Parks & Recreation) stars as Tommy Macklin, a mid 30's regular guy with a drop dead gorgeous wife named Audrey (Olivia Munn) a nice house, good friends, basically a perfect life. However, he can't get his wife pregnant no matter how hard he tries. Come to find out, Tommy is shooting blanks. But Tommy secretly went to a sperm bank before he was married to make some extra cash on the side to help pay for his wife's engagement ring. After jacking it to no end, it looks like Tommy's potent bone broth has run out.
Tommy and his friend Wade (the always hilarious Kevin Heffernan) have devised a plan to break into the sperm bank that holds the last of Tommy's man seed that is about to be sold to a gay couple in a few days. They enlist the help of Ron John, (Chandrasekhar) an Indian criminal who once worked for the Indian mafia. Ron John, Wade and Tommy all come up with a plan on how to break into the sperm bank without getting caught, or so they seem.
The Babymakers for the most part is amusing and does provide some laughs. Every time Heffernan is on screen, he constantly cracks me up and his comic timing is right on the money. However, its the two main leads that left me a bit cold. While Schneider had some funny lines and some of his mannerisms were humorous, his comic timing at times seemed off. It looked to me like he was ready to start laughing at any second. I kept thinking how any actor like Ron Livingston would have been much more funnier in this role. Olivia Munn is just down right awful. She is never funny and her lines seem forced. It doesn't help that her character is unlikable. She constantly gets mad at Tommy for the dumbest reasons and even puts him down at times that seem to hit below the belt. I was hoping the film would end with Tommy telling her to fuck off, leaving her.
While the very climax of The Babymakers drifted into sitcom-y type humor, the rest of the film is pure R rated humor and thankfully this is what makes The Babymakers funny. There is plenty of nudity (male and female) and jokes about masturbation, sodomy, drugs, etc that will please the male crowd. Don't think that this is a movie for couples, like most lame romantic comedies. While it isn't as funny as Chandrasekhar's previous films like Super Troopers, Club Dredd and Beerfest, The Babymakers still provides some good laughs.
The DVD contains very few special features such as a short featurette and some snippets of interviews with the cast and crew. I would have loved to have gotten a director commentary track or better yet, deleted scenes as there are moments in the film that you know are missing (what happened to Wade's leg?). The picture and sound are fine but I can only assume the blu ray should look and sound even better. Maybe there will be more special features on the blu ray?
While The Babymakers could have been much funnier had it had two stronger leads, the movie is still funny and worth a look. [rating:3]
Theatrical Release: August 3, 2012
DVD Release: September 18, 2012
Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
R
Review by James Klein
The Babymakers basic plot is not the type of film I would care to watch. A young couple struggling with the fact that they can't have a baby. Yawn. Sounds like a crappy sitcom. And baby humor...I'll be honest, movies about babies and kids are almost always awful, recycling the same old stale jokes. But once I saw that Jay Chandrasekhar was at the helm as not just director but also co-star and the cast is rounded out with smaller roles by the gang from the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, I was willing to set aside my baby prejudice and give this one a chance.
Paul Schneider (best known for co-starring on TV's Parks & Recreation) stars as Tommy Macklin, a mid 30's regular guy with a drop dead gorgeous wife named Audrey (Olivia Munn) a nice house, good friends, basically a perfect life. However, he can't get his wife pregnant no matter how hard he tries. Come to find out, Tommy is shooting blanks. But Tommy secretly went to a sperm bank before he was married to make some extra cash on the side to help pay for his wife's engagement ring. After jacking it to no end, it looks like Tommy's potent bone broth has run out.
Tommy and his friend Wade (the always hilarious Kevin Heffernan) have devised a plan to break into the sperm bank that holds the last of Tommy's man seed that is about to be sold to a gay couple in a few days. They enlist the help of Ron John, (Chandrasekhar) an Indian criminal who once worked for the Indian mafia. Ron John, Wade and Tommy all come up with a plan on how to break into the sperm bank without getting caught, or so they seem.
The Babymakers for the most part is amusing and does provide some laughs. Every time Heffernan is on screen, he constantly cracks me up and his comic timing is right on the money. However, its the two main leads that left me a bit cold. While Schneider had some funny lines and some of his mannerisms were humorous, his comic timing at times seemed off. It looked to me like he was ready to start laughing at any second. I kept thinking how any actor like Ron Livingston would have been much more funnier in this role. Olivia Munn is just down right awful. She is never funny and her lines seem forced. It doesn't help that her character is unlikable. She constantly gets mad at Tommy for the dumbest reasons and even puts him down at times that seem to hit below the belt. I was hoping the film would end with Tommy telling her to fuck off, leaving her.
While the very climax of The Babymakers drifted into sitcom-y type humor, the rest of the film is pure R rated humor and thankfully this is what makes The Babymakers funny. There is plenty of nudity (male and female) and jokes about masturbation, sodomy, drugs, etc that will please the male crowd. Don't think that this is a movie for couples, like most lame romantic comedies. While it isn't as funny as Chandrasekhar's previous films like Super Troopers, Club Dredd and Beerfest, The Babymakers still provides some good laughs.
The DVD contains very few special features such as a short featurette and some snippets of interviews with the cast and crew. I would have loved to have gotten a director commentary track or better yet, deleted scenes as there are moments in the film that you know are missing (what happened to Wade's leg?). The picture and sound are fine but I can only assume the blu ray should look and sound even better. Maybe there will be more special features on the blu ray?
While The Babymakers could have been much funnier had it had two stronger leads, the movie is still funny and worth a look. [rating:3]
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