No, the movie is not that bad, but it does suffer in from a lack depth and execution. It all comes back to that idea of concept potential. The basic idea offers plenty of potential to explore the drive for motherhood and the desire to have a successful career and the attempts to balance the two, not to mention an exploration of the surrogate process and the attempts to become pregnant. All of this could have been wrapped up in a very funny film. However, I get the impression that they were content to allow the plot to play along a line of predictability.

On the other side, Baby Mama is at its best when Fey and Poehler are working together. Their chemistry is fantastic and they were clearly having a good time filming. I can only imagine the funny ad-libs that were captured during their takes. Both of these actresses have a natural charisma lending to some great screen presence. My biggest question is how much better this may have been had Fey taken a pass at the script; something tells me she could have punched it up considerably. That also makes me wonder why she didn't.

The supporting cast is a mixed bag of the good, the good for the moment, and the underused. On the good side of the coin is Romany Malco as Oscar the doorman. The man has great timing and is a very humorous presence, stealing many of the scenes he appears in. Good for the moment refers to Steve Martin, who plays Barry, the head of the health food company. He is a pseudo-New Agey guru who is best taken in small doses and quickly overstays his welcome, this despite being his first appearance since the abysmal Pink Panther. As for the underused? That crown goes to Maura Tierney as Kate's sister Caroline. She is fine in her limited role, but there was potential for more.

This is screenwriter Michael McCullers first shot at being a director. His past work includes the Austin Powers sequels and Undercover Brother. It strikes me that he would be better served to stick with the overblown comedies. His efforts here to combine heart and reality do not go far enough and it is when he is working with the goofier comedic moments that he is at his best.

Bottom line. This is a solidly mediocre film. It is far from being terrible, yet does not raise its aspirations high enough to have any sort of long lasting impact. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler do their best to inject life into the script and come out unscathed. May not be worth a trip to the theater, but definitely worth a future rental.

Mildly Recommended.