“After trying everything to get his wife Audrey (Olivia Munn) pregnant, Tommy Macklin (Paul Schneider) realises to his horror that he may be “shooting blanks.” Terrified that his marriage may fall apart, Tommy recruits his friends (and an Indian ex-mobster) to rob a sperm bank where he made a deposit years ago. As with any half-baked scheme, everything can and does go wrong, testing the limits of Tommy and Audrey’s relationship. The Babymakers is a hilarious twist on the heist film genre, a laugh-out loud comedy showing how far one couple will go in hopes of creating a new life.” -Movie Blurb
After looking through other movies at Silverbird, Ikeja City Mall, and none settles with you (time preferences et al), you might glance at The Babymakers and wonder if you should just see it. The movie poster looks attractive, the title hints at the promise of a fun plot, and the fact that it is rated R might just tip your curiosity a little over the edge. Only problem is, you’ve never heard of this film. Is it worth your money?
Let me just tell you now; this movie is a joke.
That is the gist of it all. It’s a hash of crude japes and crass comparisons. If you were expecting a funny movie with bits of serious moments, moments that you can relate to- this is not it. Even the parts that looked like they were shot so we could feel sorry for the couple trying to get a baby did not hit the mark. For example, the scene where Olivia Munn finds out that to buy her engagement ring, her husband had donated his sperm to the sperm bank over and over, at $85 a ‘pop’. I close my eyes and try to imagine it, and figure it would be pretty embarrassing if I was the one in her shoes. A little shocking, a little disgusting, a little funny. However, in the movie, you don’t feel the emotions such news is supposed to elicit. Perhaps only a slight disgust, but nothing more. Considering that this movie has two stars as its lead role players, this is more than a tad disappointing.
It shows you a rather unrealistic view of the problems that middle aged people face in their lives and marriages. Tommy’s friends; although very grown, act like seven year old boys with a seventeen year old ‘giggity’ approach to sex and sexual matters, which I find appalling. Even a little insulting to men. Then there was that scene where one of the men- a grown man- spilled a whole rack of different sperm samples, and had to writhe around on a floor slick with the stuff. I can’t…I couldn’t watch.
You could watch though, if you were looking for grossed-out comedy in the first place. You could watch for Olivia Munn’s beauty, especially as she shows up in most of the nude scenes. However, my overall opinion about this film is that it barely passes for entertainment. It’s like watching a group of kids put on a really awful grade school play that happens to be full of nudity, and a constant barrage of stupid masturbation jokes and antics, and a poor attempt at a decent comedy.
