This is a film about 5 couples, going through their own individual romantic trials and tribulations which all intricately linked. Also, they’re all pregnant. Good God, I think to myself- it’s like Love Actually got Knocked Up.
Initially the film is marred, though it does live up to this strange mixture of standards. The overall tone seems confused between rom-com clichés (a high maintenance first mother, the desperate parents adopting a child from Ethopia, a young couple completely unprepared after a one night stand) and the gross out gags of a “lads’ film” (pregnant women throwing up, and a hideously cringeworthy scene with a moment of incontinence when giving the guest speech at a convention).
However, for all its sloppiness the film has an undeniable charm. It begins with each couple watching “Celebrity Dance Factor”, in a parody of reality programmes that continues with Cameron Diaz hosting weight loss programme “Lose it and Weep”. A hidden gem in the film is clueless shop assistant Janice, played by comedienne Rebel Wilson- her lines had me cracking up despite my determination to remain critical. I was inevitably won over by the end of the film, because when you look past the strange mix of humour, it is an easy going film about love and friendship. Or perhaps I’m just sucker for romance.