What to Expect When You're Expecting

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This movie is my favorite feel-good flick and 9 out of 10 times it's my go to for an easy late night comedy. That isn't to say it is a gut- busting laugh-fest but it EASILY ranks higher than a chuckle. Even though I can almost quote every line I still smile in expectation for the scenes and moments that continue to crack me up. It has been unfairly reviewed by others who describe it as sophomoric and shallow. While the movie maintains a sense of levity throughout it is not lacking in emotion and empathy. If you want something to help you get rid of a box of Kleenexes try "The Notebook." "What to Expect" treats it's scenes of tenderness with respect (which I appreciated) but won't make you ball your eyes out. Other ridiculous criticisms target the development of the characters and their portrayal of parental roles. As in many comedies, the characters of "What to Expect" are more closely related to an archetype than actual people. That being said, I didn't find it difficult to identify and empathize with each character as the movie progressed. Their emotions and development are hyperbolic but still believable for what this movie is - a comedy! As a pregnant woman I can easily relate to what seems (to some!) an exaggeration. This movie is sweet, funny, and easy to watch. Not to mention that it actually DOES pack a lot of useful information regarding pregnancy without seeming like a health class video. It won't make you pee yourself laughing or cry yourself to sleep or enlighten you but it should make you happy as it does for me every time I watch it. Abandon your cynicism for a moment and enjoy a cute couch-film.

source: What to Expect When You're Expecting

I'm usually pretty good at weeding out the films that put all the best scenes in the trailer then leave you with a bunch of junk when you actually sit through it in its entirety. But I must admit I was fooled with this one. The daddy's group shown in the previews led me to believe this would be an edgy hilarious take on pregnancy. Considering Chris Rock was featured heavily in the clips, I thought it would be a safe bet. Unfortunately Chris Rock's " Dudes group" has minimal screen time, and even when they are on screen, the material is just not funny. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the best this movie has to offer. I guess the producers thought they had a huge summer blockbuster on their hands; I mean why else would they pay top dollar for so many A-list actors all in one film if they didn't believe the film would be successful enough to see a return on their investments? It really does baffle me because this film is nowhere near as good as it should be to warrant the hefty paychecks of this cast. The film centers around a montage of female characters from early pregnancy to delivery (with the exception of Jennifer Lopez, she's looking to adopt). There's a young 20-something who hardly knows her beau at all, a woman who's been looking forward to conceiving with relish but finds the reality of it a rather unpleasant surprise, her younger mother-in-law who, annoyingly, seems to handle her pregnancy with hardly a glitch, and a fitness guru who thinks she can control the whole ordeal like she does her diet and exercise regimen. Ironically, as a stand alone, any one of these couples stories could have been developed into a decent film. However the mingling of all these stories results in a shallow treatment that makes the film underwhelming. And while this wouldn't necessarily make or break it, add in the fact that the film is just not funny enough, and it's just a waste. Some genuine humor would have made the flaws forgivable. Consider this: The only funny scene of the film is about 20 seconds in duration, containing non-main characters who have about 10 minutes total screen time. Wendi McLendon-Covery (of Bridesmaids) and Thomas Lennon share the single funny scene in the film and they're hardly in the movie, which means.......you get the point. Overall there is some potential with this film, it's just underdeveloped and badly written. I wouldn't pay to see it, but it's good way to while away a couple hours if you happen to catch it on TV. Other than that, steer clear. This coming from a chick who enjoys rom coms. Thumbs down.

You know what I expect? I expect better movies! "What to Expect When You're Expecting" is once again another ensemble rom-com that's basically just a bunch of short stories glued together in a full-length motion picture. You know, with a cast like this, this movie would have been better off with a title like "What to Expect When You're 'Selling Out'". I wouldn't say that this movie was "god-awful", I suppose that maybe a married couple might enjoy something here, but this is still an unoriginal, predictable, and unmemorable piece of "nothing". Director Kirk Jones has provided to give us a giant predictable "sell-out" that does nothing but go with the usual clichés. In movies like this, we usually get a bunch of individual stories packed in one movie, some that we care about, and some that we don't care about. Each story talks about a group of couples who are about to either have a baby, adopt a baby, or deciding whether to have the baby or not. We've seen these stories plenty of times before, so there's already a clue for the audience to know what will happen next. There are some chuckle-inducing moments, and I cared for a few story lines, but it's just a shame because there are so many likable actors in this movie, so this might be considered as a waste of talent. Cameron Diaz plays a weight loss contestant on a reality show who's expecting a newborn with Matthew Morrison, Jennifer Lopez takes the "Angelina Jolie" perspective to adopt an African baby, Elizabeth Banks plays a pregnant woman with tons of anxiety problems on the torture of pregnancy, and what do you know, Chris Rock is actually the leader of a group of "baby daddies". These story lines are probably careless, and mostly not funny, if you ask me! The only two story lines I actually enjoyed involves Anna Kendrick as a young woman who is expecting a baby after a certain one-night stand, and Dennis Quaid as a NASCAR legend who's expecting a new baby with his much younger, and ridiculously hot wife, played by Brooklyn Decker. I actually need to score this movie some points for that! But either way, I wasn't surprised! This movie is exactly what everyone thought it was going to be, so I guess I can say I'm not really that upset with this movie. But "What to Expect When You're Expecting" is not worth watching in any way, but if you're the type of person who enjoys these type of movies, my advice to you...wait for rental! I didn't expect that remark to pop out of my mouth. "What to Expect When You're Expecting", in my review, "predictable and mediocre, but overall unimpressive".

You can still have a good time watching it, especially if you're more open minded and go in expecting nothing I suppose. But situations happening in the movie are not really depicted that funny. When people talk about "timing" or rather bad timing, they could use this as an example of how it doesn't work. Looking at the talent at work you do wonder, but it is possible. I really enjoyed movies like New Years Eve, Valentines Day, even though they were shallow too. But they were still sweet in a good sense. Most of this movie just doesn't work. One of the few things that almost worked, was Brooklyn Deckers character. She brought some sass into it. But even her character falls apart most of the time. Cameron Diaz might be as unfunny as she can get, same goes for Elizabeth Banks. Only woman who almost saves this mess entirely is Anna Kendrick. But even her character goes from hi-to-low in a split second, making you shake your head so hard in disbelief, that it might actually fall off. And her characters resolution ... don't get me started on that. So while the movie tries very hard to be sweet (and partly achieves it), it is more annoying than anything else. I am a sucker for movie that are going in that direction, but they have to deserve it too, and this movie just doesn't.

Take films such as New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day, but remove any continuity and romance, replacing it with an attempt at suburban farce in a scene of mass parenthood and that describes What to Expect...the only thing is I wasn't expecting such bad big budget, big cast film. Yet, I should have known after seeing a turkey like New Year's Eve. The worst part of this film was something that liberal Hollywood loves, from TV adverts to movies, the denigration of the American man. Talk about role reversal...according to this mess. all women do is have kids...its the men that raise them, in tight knit groups...virtually every guy in this group is totally henpecked and submissive to their wives. The only decent romantic story line was that of a young woman who has a miscarriage and misses out of the man she has longed to love...yet, her story is relegated to mere brief sound-bites as the film jumps around from couple to couple and always winding up back with the inadequate group of chaotic husbands....a waste of time.

This film is about several couples who are expecting babies. They run into various troubles and emotional rollercoasters while preparing themselves for parenthood. "What to Expect When You're Expecting" is a lighthearted comedy that makes you laugh, just like what is advertised. Of course, the way to parenthood is not just happy and joyful, so the film also realistically portrays the unglamorous side of expecting mothers. Some of these are presented as crude toilet humour, while others are presented as emotional rollercoasters that will touch your heart. I like the fact that characters in "What to Expect When You're Expecting" do not have a smooth breezy path, but face adversity like in real life. It is an interesting comedy for expecting mothers.