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RT News / Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus: Parental Advisory for Baby Mama; Harold and Kumar Is Up In Smoke
Plus, Deception proves defective.
by Tim Ryan and Alex Vo | April 24, 2008
Blog Article | Discuss Article
This week at the movies, we have expecting ladies (Baby Mama, starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler), on-the-lam stoners (Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, starring John Cho and Kal Penn), and embroiled bankers (Deception, starring Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor). What do the critics have to say?

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle was a delightful surprise -- a stoner comedy that made more than a few trenchant points about American race relations. The critics say Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay has plenty of laughs, but is shorter on smarts than its predecessor. In Guantanamo, Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) attempt to smuggle a bong onto a flight to Amsterdam, and are subsequently accused of a terrorist plot; the pair go on the run from the law, encountering babes, marijuana, and Neil Patrick Harris along the way. The pundits say this lowbrow, un-P.C. comedy has its moments, but the easy charm and originality of the original is missing. It's currently at 54 percent on the Tomatometer. (Check out RT's interview with John Cho here.)


"I told you I could light it 10 times in a row!"

Tina Fey is one of the brightest talents to emerge from Saturday Night Live in recent years; as an actor and writer for Mean Girls and TV's 30 Rock, she's proven herself to be a sharp satirist of modern times. Fey and her Baby Mama co-star Amy Poehler go a long way toward making this surrogate pregnancy comedy watchable, critics say. Fey stars as a career woman who can't conceive a child, so she turns to a working girl (Poehler) to carry her baby; hilarity ensues when Poehler loses her job and moves in with Fey. The pundits say Baby Mama lacks the sharp wit to be a truly subversive comedy about out baby-obsessed culture, and the film too often relies on bathroom humor to generate laughs. However, they also note the cast is outstanding, with Fey and Poehler playing nicely off each other. Baby Mama currently stands at 60 percent on the Tomatometer.


"Guess which one of these ladies has volunteered to enter the containment unit?"

You know exactly what you're getting with a title like Deception: an expendable potboiler with inexplicably big names attached to it. Ewan McGregor stars as a Wall Street banker who is invited into an ominous sex club by his friend (Hugh Jackman), only to become a suspect in a woman's (Michelle Williams) disappearance. Critics say this limp thriller's major flaw is its obsession with piling inane plot twists and turns, most of which can be easily deduced well before they arrive. At 13 percent, Deception is all smoke and mirrors.


"So what if I said Dawson's Creek is bad?"


Also opening this week in limited release:
Without the King, a documentary about Swaziland, the world's last absolute monarchy, is at 100 percent.
Bomb It a doc about graffiti artists from around the world, is at 78 percent.
Standard Operating Procedure, Errol Morris' examination of Abu Ghraib, is at 76 percent.
Roman de Gare, the new thriller from Oscar-winning director Claude Lelouch, is at 75 percent.
Then She Found Me, Helen Hunt's directorial debut, is at 64 percent.
Stuff and Dough, a suspense thriller from Romania, is at 57 percent.
And Deal, a poker drama starring Burt Reynolds, is at zero percent.


Burt spending his hard-earned Uwe Boll money.


Recent Hugh Jackman Movies:
------------------------------
74% -- Flushed Away (2006)
51% -- The Fountain (2006)
74% -- Happy Feet (2006)
75% -- The Prestige (2006)
37% -- Scoop (2006)


Related Items
Movie: Baby Mama
Deception
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Comments (1-20 of 37 posts) | Reply
jokerboy1991 writes:
on Apr 24 2008 06:04 PM

Ill see H&K tomorrow. This is off topic, but RT hasnt reported yet, That DEL TORO is going to do THE HOBBIT movies which is going to be AUSOME, cant wait til HBII!

(Reply to this)
543084
Destroyer318 writes:
on Apr 24 2008 06:26 PM

I i'm totally gonna see harold and kumar 2! heard it has a seen with a bottomless pool party

(Reply to this)
vitajex writes:
on Apr 24 2008 06:46 PM

Oh, it has nudity! Awesome! Because it's impossible to find naked women on this magic box I'm looking at right now...



(Reply to this)
542565
Mr. Cartmenez writes:
on Apr 24 2008 07:23 PM

No wonder theater floors are so sticky.

(Reply to this)
CoUcH ToMaToE DoUgIe writes:
on Apr 24 2008 07:42 PM

Oh, too bad Tiny fey's precious movie is now considered rotten

again at 58% Too bad, oh waitaminute I forgot I don't considered poehler

funny and fey is vastly overrated!! One of the funniest satirists of modern

times? Give me break, RT-Tim & Alex... i think you been smoking too much of

Kumar's secret stash ;)


(Reply to this)
466901
kooks25 writes:
on Apr 24 2008 08:55 PM

what the heck is "Deal"

(Reply to this)
Bloody Mathias writes:
on Apr 24 2008 10:45 PM

I'm still seeing H&K 2 'cuz the first was damn good.

(Reply to this)
~*Admiral Snowstorm*~ writes:
on Apr 25 2008 03:42 AM

Tina Fey's not that bad. Best satirist is taking it too far, sure, but she's at least got a sense of humor and stuff to say about our culture, which she handles rather intelligently. I don't think I'll be seeing Baby Mama in theaters, but I'd prefer it vastly over romantic comedy #1379.

(Reply to this)
408335
Gimy writes:
on Apr 25 2008 05:15 AM

the first Harold and Kumar sucked. unless you've NEVER seen a minority comedian...you've already seen every one of the jokes. another "wtf are you guys thinking" flick for me. the only decent part was when Doogie was in it...thats it. and i saw the KKK scene thats pictured...there is not ONE LAUGH in that entire scene. its sh3t...

if you want to see a comedy...go see Forgetting Sarah Marshall...its actually funny, and you don't have to be toasted to laugh at it. If harold and kumar makes more than 20 mill...i'm gonna vomit.

the tina fey movie looks almost as bad. seen multiple trailers for that too...and i'm not sure if should be considered a comedy. there wasn't anything funny about it.


(Reply to this)
425356
TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Apr 25 2008 08:20 AM

I actually LIKE Tina Fey (am I the only one who thinks she's kinda hot?), and I tend to like Amy Poehler, though I think they over-used and over-exposed her a couple of seasons ago on SNL. The commercials for this looked REALLY lame, though. NO interest. h & K will probably be a very enjoyable rental.

And not to call anyone out AGAIN (4th F#CKING time), It's spelled A*W*E*some. Please. Once. Spell it right. I feel like I'm on a post with Jessica Simpson. Or Bush.


(Reply to this)
tomwaitsjr writes:
on Apr 25 2008 08:51 AM

I love Tina Fey and that scar on her face.

(seriously)


(Reply to this)
jokerboy1991 writes:
on Apr 25 2008 09:06 AM

In reply to this comment (#1703551)
Yeah, Tina Fay did ruin SNL, but Seth Myers is doing just as bad of a job to. I cant say I dont watch 30 ROCK, I think its funny.

(Reply to this)
535778
CallMeBakes writes:
on Apr 25 2008 10:57 AM

The only redeeming thing that could be gleamed from Harold and Kumar would be if the police used the opportunity to arrest anyone who goes to see that movie since only drug-users would actually go. Come on! It's a golden opportunity! Don't miss out!

(Reply to this)
dedalus7 writes:
on Apr 25 2008 11:39 AM

"AUSOME" is actually the way you say something from Australia is cool. Like Mad Max is "AUSOME", or "G'day mate, Did you see ACDC rock out last night? It was friggin AUSOME". It's a cultural thing. Let's all try to be more sensitive to the Aussies on the boards. After all most of them are the ancestors of deranged criminals.

*Note- Since making this comment I have since met with leaders from the Australians For Equal Rights group, and I am ashamed of my hateful and hurtful statements. Australians are not deranged criminals. They are ausome.


(Reply to this)
dedalus7 writes:
on Apr 25 2008 11:49 AM

And by the way, officially, Tina Fey IS hot. Anyone who thinks differently needs to be shipped off to a penal colony... like Australia.

Somewhere Rupert "Mr. Ausome" Murdoch has his stink finger hovering over a button that will erase me from existence. He's always watching me...


(Reply to this)
ThinPhantom writes:
on Apr 25 2008 12:02 PM

Haha! STINK FINGER! That is so "Ausome"!!! Just like in that Juno movie! Morgan Freeman!!!! So Good!

(Reply to this)
CoUcH ToMaToE DoUgIe writes:
on Apr 25 2008 12:03 PM

okay someone call that ship, because I have the "crazy"

idea that Tina Fey isn't hot. In a matter of fact if i ever feel too

worked up sexually, i know the perfect code that will get any man cold

and limp: tina fey. Jeezus, what the hell is wrong with you dedalus7, I'm

really hoping your joking or someone needs to send you images of what

attractive, let alone hot, women look like. And for the last time, this

womsn is hilarious and the best satirist of her time... she is an okay

comediene who has some of the best connections in the business. Honestly,

folks you would think 30 Rock is Seinfeld or something. And how did she do

on SNL? Worst ratings and worst era ever for that once proud show!! I'm not

saying its all her fault but god have mercy,where is all this praise coming

from. Name me one skit she did on SNL that ever made you laugh tremendously.

Really, after will ferrell left the show, the show plummented farther than

when the Knicks brough in Isiah Thomas. And Amy Poehler has never ever made

one funny skit in her life. If i am wrong name one, just one, please!!!

Thank god, for real humorists like Judd Apatow and now I think I'll see again

what a real comedy movie should look like...


(Reply to this)
107234
pinkincide writes:
on Apr 25 2008 12:53 PM

CoUcH are you trying to write poetry, or is the concept of line spacing beyond you? Since you can't spell either I guess it's the latter.

Fey has largely resurrected Weekend Update which has been sucking hard for like a decade. That's more than the other current SNL jokers have offered. And she's kind of cute if your ideal woman isn't Pamela Anderson.


(Reply to this)
FantasyFan07 writes:
on Apr 25 2008 01:47 PM

Screw the critics, the first Harold and Kumar was awesome, and I am definitely going to see this one!

(Reply to this)
dedalus7 writes:
on Apr 25 2008 02:53 PM

In reply to this comment (#1704094)
I repeat. Tina Fey is hot. No joke. I'm staring at a picture of her right now. It transfixes me like one of those 3D posters that you have to slightly cross your eyes to see (and then after many wasted hours it turns out to be a unicorn). The unfortunate problem is that "hot" is not an absolute term. It's much like quantum physics. It all depends on the eye of the beholder. Now if I can only uncross my eyes...

So in summation, learn quantum physics and you too will find Tina Fey hot. It'll open a whole brave new world to you CoUcH. One day you'll be walking down the street and the next thing you know you'll be asking yourself this question: Is Sarah Jessica Parker the hottest woman in the world? Chances are deep down (way deep down) you're already feeling something stir... no it's not acid reflux. It's your soul.


(Reply to this)
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