by Nanya Konwea

Over the moon about starting a family, TV fitness guru Jules and dance show star Evan find that their high-octane celebrity lives don’t stand a chance against the surprise demands of pregnancy. Baby-crazy author and advocate Wendy gets a taste of her own militant mommy advice when pregnancy hormones ravage her body; while Wendy’s husband, Gary, struggles not to be outdone by his competitive alpha-Dad, who’s expecting twins with his much younger trophy wife, Skylar. Photographer Holly is prepared to travel the globe to adopt a child, but her husband Alex isn’t so sure, and tries to quiet his panic by attending a “dudes” support group, where new fathers get to tell it like it really is. Then two rival food truck chefs Rosie and Marco’s surprise hook-up results in an unexpected quandary: what to do when your first child comes before your first date?

REVIEW:

Based on the bestselling book with the same title, WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU ARE EXPECTING, a guide book on pregnancy and starting a family, by Heidi Murkoff; the movie is an extremely comic yet revealing one directed by Kirk Jones. The story which revolves around five couples, who are one way or another, involved in some sort of baby drama; reveals the bottom truth being that you do not prepare for pregnancy as much as pregnancy prepares you. In the movie, there are two categories of couples, the first being those for whom having a baby was not expected and the other- desiring and pinning for a little one of their own.

In the first category, is Jules (Cameron Diaz), a fitness guru who is surprised but happily expecting a baby with her celebrity on-screen dance partner Evan (Matthew Morrison); both who cannot seem to agree on anything as regards their baby. Also there is Rosie (Anna Kendrick) and her high school crush- now turned rival food truck owner- Marco (Chace Crawford), who giving into their passions had a one night stand, the result being an unexpected pregnancy. Rosie and Marco are sad after losing baby and have to come to terms with the strain in their relationship.On the other hand are those trying hard for a baby is Wendy (Elizabeth Banks) owner of a motherhood emporium called Breast Choice and her husband Gary(Ben Falcone) who is ever competing with his alpha-male father Ramsey (Dennis Quaid). The competition doesn’t ease up when Gary and Wendy find out that Ramsey’s young wife Skylar (Brooklyn Decker) also happens to be pregnant – with twins! Then there’s photographer Holly (Jennifer Lopez) going through the process of adoption with her reluctant husband Alex (Rodrigo Santoro) whom she arranges to meet with a group of fathers – ‘The dudes group’ – happily married, pushing prams, changing diapers and loving it! I happened to love Chris Rock with his unofficial role as the leader of the group as he plays a remarkable and funny role, doling out advice to Alex on the discomfort, issues but mostly the joys of parenting (yeah, with a new set of triplets and an accident-prone son –the funny toddler had a knack for falling and hurting himself- he basically had all the experience!)

Amidst the laughter and fun (Alex must have been majorly freaked out when Chris threw his baby at him to catch –oh whao!), some of it does not quite describe the experience, that comes with expecting a baby or losing one; the hormones, adoption matters, weight issues – though it was not quite clear to me how Skylar carrying twins, could go about daily with no indication of experiencing any hormonal changes unlike Wendy who showed that the period of pregnancy can throw you of course.

Then there’s the birthing scene, where not all were convincing especially Skylar’s birthing scenes – I bet some mothers would disagree at birthing being that easy!

However, this movie is one that really should be seen by all, especially by couples with families or eager to start one. Despite the irregularities, the movie provided heartfelt comedy while portraying that the glow you got promised when you read about pregnancy isn’t all there is; getting scared is part of the package; so I would give it a 70 per cent rating.