Yale blogger Helen Rittelmeyer says the rise of the “fertility film” is “a good thing“:
I’m not sure why Quart is unhappy about the move towards seeing mother- and fatherhood as redemptive, given that it moves us away from trying to charge romantic relationships with the burden of making overgrown adolescents man up (which was always a bad bet on our part). Movies are full of men who start out juvenile, sullen, self-absorbed, or humorless, only to fall into relationships with women who offer a promise of salvation. I’m not sure why; confrontation with the responsibilities of fatherhood seems to have more raw valence than “love of a good woman.”
Louise Sloan, single mother by choice and author of Knock Yourself Up, thinks there’s plenty funny about being a single mom, but that Baby Mama doesn’t get it:
The critiques of Baby Mama find it to be superficial and predictable, lacking fully drawn characters and the kind of emotional depth that takes a funny sketch and makes it a great movie. And that’s where I start to lose my sense of humor. Because this material is both hilarious and highly emotional–there was no reason for Baby Mama to be shallow.
I found plenty to laugh about as I encountered exploding semen vials and was twice mistaken for an animal breeder (“I swear, it’s always you semen people who get the late deliveries!” one FedEx clerk loudly exclaimed).