Review of:My Babies Daddy (2004)
Director:Cheryl Dunye
Rating:PG-13 for sexual content, language and some drug references
Starring:Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson, Joanna Bacalso, Michael Imperioli, Bai Ling
This term has been used so much recently that it has apparently now made its way into film titles. In general, the use of the term usually is associated with a man who is more of a donor to the process of making a child than being a real father to one. This problem afflicts many cultures’‚ and is something that desperately needs to be addressed.
In the film My Babies Daddy, they try to tackle this tough issue with comedy and I am sorry to say they fail. When three men‚ (Eddie Griffin‚ Anthony Anderson‚ and Michael Imperioli) of varying degrees of maturity are forced to become responsible adults when their girlfriends become pregnant‚ it is almost as if the sky has fallen. The basis of the film is how do these three men respond to this challenge.
Now when you have Eddie Griffin as seemingly the most responsible of the parents (and sort of urkelish at that) there has been a serious casting mistake. It was a shock to see Griffin in this nerdish type of role. I was constantly waiting for the offhanded wise crack that would liven up the film from the veteran comic. Anthony Anderson is playing his typical role‚ that of the sort of bumbling‚ nice guy who seems to be everyone’s friend. He adds what he can to the film‚ but it falls short of anything original.
In this film, somebody had the opportunity to make a great statement. Ten minutes in, I felt like I was watching a really bad baseball team playing against a great pitcher. Moon sized topics could have been pulled out of this film‚ but it continually seemed like no one wanted to take a swing at them. Although I wanted to laugh at times, it just seemed that the film wasn’t following along the lines it should be. A bit of a disappointment for that very reason.
