Here we go again, on the winter eve of another J-Lo album release comes yet ANOTHER J-Lo movie. Yes, it is a romantic comedy. Yes, it does put Jenny from the Block in the shoes of an unlucky-in-love but incredibly nice lady, once again. And YES, this one is also destined to be forgotten as quickly as you can say ¡Hola!
In what almost feels like a chronological extension of any previous Lopez rom-com, protagonist Zoe is stuck with the perfect life albeit without a perfect man. In order to rectify this minor issue, go-getter Zoe goes and gets herself knocked-up – by means of artificial insemination, no less – but then quite literally begins the most unexpected journey of her life when she takes a fancy to the bloke who tries to steal her Cab ride, about two seconds after the baby making has occurred. In a series of coincidental moments where the paths of our heroine and said cab stealer cross, Zoe falls in love with Stan (Aussie stud Alex O’Laughlin) and unbeknown to him, also pregnant. While this all sounds sweet and dandy, and it often is, the problem lies in the expectation that the audience will buy too many of these once-in-a-million coincidences. Thankfully the film is cut with scene after scene of Lopez in comedic situations allowing her physical comedy to shine- like a particularly gross and borderline horrific birth scene attended by the duo in their preparation – leaving little time for spectators to dwell on anything deeper than O’Laughlin’s smitten or shocked expressions and the plethora of cheap laughs.
The Back-Up Plan is the feature film directorial debut of Alan Poul. Poul is a man most renowned for sitting on the payroll of some quality television productions, using his skills as a writer, producer and director for shows such as Swingtown, Big Love and Six Feet Under. Another Television regular, Kate Angelo, provides her first full length screenplay and, playing safe with a formulaic plot will see her employed for popcorn movies for a little while to come. As the highest grossing of four CBS films released insofar this year, The Back-Up Plan is not the financial flop of past J-Lo adventures in the film trade, such as Gigli. That said, there is a reason this one was released during the pre-summer market – this film presents a story formula that we have seen a million times before, presented in the same way a million times before.
What makes this film more rigid than the effortless comedies of Knocked Up or Baby Mama is that Zoe’s predicament was planned and hence, her issues are a result of her own doing. What disallows Zoe the believability to be the character that cannot find a man to marry and breed with, is that Lopez is stunningly flawless at every point in film time, emphasising that she would never, ever have less than a line up of men waiting to give her attention. 30Rock’s Liz Lemon just said it all more believably, and waaaaay funnier with “first i’m gonna buy this [wedding]dress, then i’m gonna have a baby, then i’m gonna die… and find a really cute guy in heaven”.
On a last note, the supporting cast offers many standouts – including Michaela Watkins as the stressed out friend with a well established family of little ferals, Jennifer Elise Cox as an overzealous baby store clerk and Anthony Anderson as the pregnancy and child-wrangling Yoda to converse over a juice-box or several, with an often disillusioned Stan.
Verdict:
After poor efforts like Valentine’s Day and The Bounty Hunter, 2010 has not been the year of the romantic comedy for Hollywood (when is it?). Unfortunately for J-Lo, this movie feels just like her “Back-Up Plan”.
