Wiig Tries Hard, But This Is No "Baby Mama"

Rating: 6/10 (25 November 2011)

A moderately funny comedy that highlights the considerable talents of the under-utilized Kristen Wiig and makes you wish she had been given better material to work with.
When Wiig and her "Saturday Night Live" fellow alumna, Maya Rudolph, are on screen together, the chemistry is palpable and makes one wonder why someone didn't think to give these two a buddy comedy along the lines of "Baby Mama." But instead, Rudolph gets little screen time, and the show belongs to Wiig. Wiig is a very funny comedienne, but the character she gets to play wears out her welcome early on, long before the movie wants to let her learn the lesson all such formulaic comedies must have their main characters learn and rebound for that happy ending. Therefore, the crash and burn that Wiig's character endures becomes pathetic instead of funny, despite Wiig's frantic efforts to wring comedy out of situations that don't lend themselves much to laughs.
Still, the film is a diverting enough amusement for a Friday night, and there are enough laughs to make some of the more mediocre parts worth sitting through.
Grade: B