Get ready to poke fun at pregnancy – and have a little sob too – with this summer’s hotly anticipated parenting film
MFM was invited to a screening of one of this summer’s hotly anticipated films What To Expect When You’re Expecting. Our verdict? We loved it - and as well as thinking it's one of 2012's must-see movies, we've popped it on our must-have DVD list, too.
Whether you’re pregnant, already a mum or have never even thought about having kids, we think you'll have a good chuckle and probably shed a tear, too, when watching this movie.
The cast is brimming with celebs. From Cameron Diaz, who plays Jules, the TV weight loss show host expecting her first baby, to Chris Rock, who rules the roost in a Saturday dads’ club ‘the dudes’. Dennis Quaid even stars as a retired racing driver whose young wife is expecting twins.
The mother of all mum-to-be battles kicks off between Wendy (played by Elizabeth Banks) and Skyler (played by Brooklyn Decker) who have rather different pregnancy experiences. While Wendy struggles to keep her pregnancy flatulence in check, repeatedly wets herself and becomes an overnight YouTube senstation for her public ‘pregnancy sucks’ rant, Skyler floats through pregnancy in six-inch heels and henna baby bump tattoos.
The film’s genius is in its ability to effortlessly switch from endearing moments to laugh-out-loud comedy. Shots of Holly (played by Jennifer Lopez) and Alex (played by Rodrigo Santoro) meeting their adopted baby in Guatemala sit comfortably alongside revelations from ‘the dudes’ that they’ve found their child in the toilet, hate the pronunciation of their baby’s name and have seen their baby fall off the changing table. All said under the protection of ‘the dudes' and their rule that you ‘do not judge’, of course.
So, what to expect? Everything and anything! Jules goes into labour in the ‘wrong’ US state, Wendy has to abandon her birth plan (even though it’s typed!) and Holly and Alex are given the green light for adoption just months after they’ve signed up.
All the mums-to-be do eventually find their ‘glow’ – courtesy of adorable babies who push pant-wetting-episodes and rows about circumcision to the back of their minds. Apart from Skyler who ends up with two screaming babies, which you can't help but feel a little smug about.
What To Expect When You’re Expecting is in cinemas from 25 May 2012.
