The Back-Up Plan (C or 2/4 stars)
Hear this everybody ... J-Lo is in another romantic comedy. I know, no way. But, at least she's not as aggravating as Jennifer Aniston or Katherine Heigl. Having said that, is her "C" movie really all the more better than one of their D, D+, or C- stars? 'The Back-Up Plan', directed by Alan Poul, focuses on Zoe (Jennifer Lopez), a woman in her mid-late 30s who, thinking she'll never find Mr. Right, decides to get artificially inseminated so she can have her long-wanted baby. A few weeks later, she discovers that the treatments were quite effective; as the ultrasound signals 2 heartbeats. Great.
But here's the problem: the same day Zoe was inseminated, she met her Mr. Right. He is Stan (Australian TV actor, Alex O'Loughlin), a cheese maker (who the filmmakers make clear that he looks good with no shirt on - I guess J-Lo wasn't good enough, so more flesh needed to be shown elsewhere, haha). Zoe worried that telling him the truth about the insemination would scare him off. So a comedy of errors takes hold; where Zoe initially tries desperately to hide the fact that she's with child (food cravings, sex cravings, hormonal chaos, pregnancy pillows, water births, etc.). However, since this is a rom-com, Stan proves to be an upstanding guy; one who'll stick around for Zoe's twins, & complete the happy ending.
Ehh, you know, there's nothing "wrong" with 'The Back-Up Plan'. It may be better than you assume. It's soft, sporadically amusing & familiar; something you'd catch a bit of on TV as you pass channels. Nothing offends. Nothing is atrocious. Problem is, it's just so ... no one cares. I don't know that anyone necessarily desires a seeringly hysterical or intuitive melodrama about pregnancy, but if they do, this movie ain't it. The initial premise is interesting. But cliched, mainstream slap-sticky humor commences. There's nothing really inspired or endearing about what unfolds dramatically, & nothing will make you bust a gut with laughter; like relying on the pregnancy support group antics. It's all just so sanitary.
Jennifer Lopez is fine, here; carrying the movie as well as she can. She's a likeable screen presence, but I miss her more grounded, dynamic efforts. i.e., Selena, Out of Sight, The Cell. Now, her acting repertoire consists of warm smiles, jokes about her infamous posterior, & making trite dialogue seem palatable. Again, I prefer her to some of her fellow female rom-com leading women, but it's still a tad disappointing. Her co-star, Alex O'Loughlin seems like a nice fellow. He was cast, no doubt, as eye candy. But he doesn't really 'act' particularly well; & has limited comedic timing. The best I can say for him (& Lopez) is that they 'do' find an easy romantic chemistry that keeps the film afloat throughout the sweet, painless, but boring story.
But here's the problem: the same day Zoe was inseminated, she met her Mr. Right. He is Stan (Australian TV actor, Alex O'Loughlin), a cheese maker (who the filmmakers make clear that he looks good with no shirt on - I guess J-Lo wasn't good enough, so more flesh needed to be shown elsewhere, haha). Zoe worried that telling him the truth about the insemination would scare him off. So a comedy of errors takes hold; where Zoe initially tries desperately to hide the fact that she's with child (food cravings, sex cravings, hormonal chaos, pregnancy pillows, water births, etc.). However, since this is a rom-com, Stan proves to be an upstanding guy; one who'll stick around for Zoe's twins, & complete the happy ending.
Ehh, you know, there's nothing "wrong" with 'The Back-Up Plan'. It may be better than you assume. It's soft, sporadically amusing & familiar; something you'd catch a bit of on TV as you pass channels. Nothing offends. Nothing is atrocious. Problem is, it's just so ... no one cares. I don't know that anyone necessarily desires a seeringly hysterical or intuitive melodrama about pregnancy, but if they do, this movie ain't it. The initial premise is interesting. But cliched, mainstream slap-sticky humor commences. There's nothing really inspired or endearing about what unfolds dramatically, & nothing will make you bust a gut with laughter; like relying on the pregnancy support group antics. It's all just so sanitary.
Jennifer Lopez is fine, here; carrying the movie as well as she can. She's a likeable screen presence, but I miss her more grounded, dynamic efforts. i.e., Selena, Out of Sight, The Cell. Now, her acting repertoire consists of warm smiles, jokes about her infamous posterior, & making trite dialogue seem palatable. Again, I prefer her to some of her fellow female rom-com leading women, but it's still a tad disappointing. Her co-star, Alex O'Loughlin seems like a nice fellow. He was cast, no doubt, as eye candy. But he doesn't really 'act' particularly well; & has limited comedic timing. The best I can say for him (& Lopez) is that they 'do' find an easy romantic chemistry that keeps the film afloat throughout the sweet, painless, but boring story.