THE BACK-UP PLAN
(PG-13)
MOVIE: * (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Jennifer Lopez plays a woman in her late-30s who is feeling her biological clock ticking away. So she goes through the process of artificial insemination and gets pregnant. However, the moment this happens, she finds a man she quite likes and falls in love. They must learn to discover love together while becoming a bizarre new set of parents.
WHAT I LIKED
Tom Bosley was in it. Poor guy. This was his last film.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Jennifer Lopez has left an exploded mine field behind herself of bad films. From “Gigli” to “Monster in Law,” Lopez has become a kiss of death for a movie. Part of it is her acting, which has never been that good. Part of it is her voice, which grates through all the dialogue like sandpaper. Part of it is her ego, which doesn’t allow her to be self-deprecating in this role and shows a narcissistic focus on her body image, even when she’s pregnant.
The love story is vacuous and makes no sense. Decisions are made to stay together and to not necessarily have a physical relationship out of randomness. Plus, the movie doesn’t even know what it’s trying to go for, a sweet romance or a raunchy comedy.
“The Back-Up Plan” has all of the cliches of a bad rom com, but it’s not enough to fall into that formula. It also tries to be a raunch fest like “Knocked Up.” If you have seen the “Water Birth” Super Bowl spot, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
As a father of three kids, I know that the entire pregnancy and birthing process can get ugly at times, but we don’t need to see all of that on screen… especially with Jennifer Lopez as the focus.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
Normally with a film this bad, at least a handful of decent special features can balance things out. Sadly, this isn’t the case here. The Blu-ray is not completely void of material, and it includes some deleted scenes and a making-of featurette. Unfortunately, the filmmakers (including clueless director Alan Poul) talk about making the film as if they were shooting a grand Shakespeare comedy. (Hint… they weren’t.)
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Alan Poul and maybe his family. (I can’t believe that J-Lo even liked it.)