Release: Now showing 

Duration: 104 minutes

Rating: M (Mature Themes, Sexual References and Infrequent Coarse Language)

Spawn from television origins; The Back-up Plan is a formulaic romantic comedy from debut director Alan Poul (Six-Feet Under, Big Love) and screenwriter Kate Angelo (Will & Grace) that may be quite predictable and banal, but actually works to some degree.

Jennifer Lopez (U-Turn, Out of Sight) is our leading lady while Alex O’Loughlin (Whiteout) plays Stan in his first major role in film. Pet store owner Zoe has given up waiting for Mr. Right to arrive in her life to help her dispense a family. She has decided to do ‘what she had to do’ and have an artificial insemination operation so she can have the child she’s forever wanted. On the same day she happens to run into Stan, founder of ‘The Little Goat Farm’. After resiting his pursuits the two quickly develop a relationship while she attempts to hide her early signs of pregnancy. When Zoe then reveals her secret to Stan, he fully commits to her and her forthcoming child.

All in all, the entire concept appears quite interesting. Although on screen a clear problem arouse: everything that happened was a little too convenient (apart from her pregnancy). When the two first meet they are reasonably compatible and ideal for each other. Stan is traumatised by a first marriage to a nymphomaniac which makes him distrustful of women, while Zoe was abandoned by her father at the age of eight, which makes her distrustful of men. It’s the perfect couple! If the pregnancy wasn’t self inflicted and Zoe had become pregnant from other person, perhaps even one of her dim-witted co-workers the stakes would have been raised, if Stan didn’t just appear to have a girlfriend and actually had one, complications would have been provoked. These strands dulled down the usurious obstacles that have become so popular and lovable in the Rom-Com genre. This predicament was confirmed when Stan openly admitted to Zoe that he doesn’t want kids, then about 16 minutes later decided to completely commit the rest of his life to her and her new child.

Although appearing to appeal to a younger teen audience, the film was very crude at times, not as sly as a Judd Apatow flick, but The Back-up Plan was smothered with cheap and exhausted laughs. The scenes in which Zoe attends a support group called ‘Single mothers and proud’ feel out of place and very ‘Sit-com’ like. Apart from the group being anything but supportive of her situation the characters are stereotypes straining for laughs majorly contrasted to the other ‘beautiful’ characters natural comical flow. Zoe’s handicapped dog also follows this trend, clearly only used for comic relief.

The film was without a doubt humorous and Lopez’s performance was quite sound. A scene where her Doctor (Robert Klein) tries to unease Stan by repeating the word ‘Vagina’ was hilarious. A cute little comedy that is sure to please at least on some level. You may as well see it before it’s forgotten about.

Benjamin Plymin