DVD Reviews: Baby Mama and Ugly Betty
She's that underdog with the quirky fashion sense. We love to root for America Fererra as "Ugly Betty". Time to review the second season of this hit show. Can hiring a surrogate mom to carry your child be a funny process? Evidently, if you judge by the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy Baby Mama. We've got the scoop on the new DVDs of these two femme-friendly comedies. Check it out:
From Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Baby Mama
Here's the haps: Kate (Tina Fey) is a successful single woman who wants to be a mom but is told that, physically, she can't. She hires Angie (Amy Poehler), a wacky white trash chick from South Philly, to carry a child for her. The two couldn't be more opposite in their opinions on having kids, raising kids and, well just about everything. Angie and her common law hubby Carl (Dax Shepard) have sneaky plans of their own and things are complicated by Kate's sudden attraction to health food store owner Rob (Greg Kinnear).
Video/Audio: The colors on this DVD are really bright and you can see details very well. Lookin' good. Sound is fine. Dialogue and music mixed well. This isn't an action flick so you don't need the big, booming bass tones. The disc has both widescreen and fullscreen presentations but I'd go for the widescreen.
Special Features: The Audio "Commentary" on this DVD is a hoot! This is one of the better commentaries since you get writer/director Michael McCullers, producer Lorne Michaels, and both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler all together talking about funny incidents on set, improv, locations, everything and it's all lively and a lot is funny. Well worth a listen for filmmaking info and good humor.
This disc has features on both sides so don't forget to flip it over! On the widescreen side, you get some "Deleted Scenes". Most are funny, one is kinda gross. An "Alternate Ending" adds another member to Kate's family. It's interesting but I like the closing they used.
"Saturday Night Live: Legacy of Laughter" presents Amy and Tina talking about SNL and working with pals Lorne Michaels and this film's director Michael McCullers. Fun, especially if you were an SNL fan when both gals were on the show. There are some on set clips.
Flipping over to the fullscreen side of the DVD you get featurette "From Conception to Delivery: The Making of Baby Mama" that includes most of the cast and crew on set and talking about how the film came to be and what "message" was meant. Nothing "deep" but entertaining.
Wrapping Up: This movie was funny but not as funny as it could have been considering the stellar comedy cast. None-the-less, a lot of the jokes are spot on and they are delivered by pros. Alien's Sigourney Weaver is hilarious as a weird fertility guru who talks Kate into going the surrogate route. For extra laughs, I'd definitely listen to the commentary track on this one! Well worth a rental and, if you are a Tina or Amy fan, a buy.
From Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Ugly Betty: The Complete Second Season
Out on DVD in time to watch before the new season premieres on Sept 25th, is the 2nd Season of this heartwarming, clever and funny TV series starring America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, a bright, sweet, hard-working Queens gal thrown into the posh offices of NYC's fashionista Mode Magazine. She's fashion-challenged but her heart of gold often wins out against her snooty co-workers. Betty works for player boss Daniel and the two fight those who would sabotage their jobs; diva Wilhelmina and doting assistant Marc and receptionist Amanda. At home Betty struggles with her sis and dad who worry about her a lot. This second season brought Freddy Rodriguez to the cast as a love interest for Betty and Renee, Wilhelmena's sis. A great season.
Video/Audio: Solid transfer on this DVD in widescreen. Great color and no audio or video flaws; perfect.
Special Features: In the DVD case you get a cute "fashionably fabulous city guide map," that pinpoints the locales of some of the season's biggest "events". Very clever to include. It also contains the episode breakdown.
Special Features are on Disc 5. First featurette is "On Set with the Besties" a best bud tour by Marc and Amanda through the Mode magazine sets, all complete with the snarky commentary of their characters. You view The Closet, The Tube, the cafeteria and even Betty's house. Fun.
"The Suarez Tour." is a short look at the Suarez house with tour guides Tony Plana (Ignacio) and he's joined with grandson Justin (Mark Indelicato). Cute.
"Wilhelmina Slater: Love To Hate Her" offers gorgeous Vanessa Williams talking about the fun and perils of playing her evil diva character with lots of cast and guest stars commenting on their confrontations with her and comparing her to classic villains; Cruella DeVille anyone? Also fun. In "Betty Bloops" we get a unique blooper reel in that the actors tell us why something went wrong and, of course, it wasn't their fault.. then you see the gags and goofs. Very fun to watch!
A featurette called "Las Pasiones De Telenovelas" presents the workings of these Spanish language soaps (they are shown in both English or Spanish here), how they are made etc., America and other cast members talk about these programs and you get some of the actual stars as well. The full length offerings are: "Los Pecados Del Corazon (Sins of the Heart)" and "Asesinato Por Muerte (Murder By Death)". Since "Ugly Betty" was based on a TV novela called "Yo Soy Betty la Fea", this extra is really interesting, campy and hey, it's a kick!
Sixteen "Deleted Scenes" are short but fun and you can whiz through them quickly. "I Love Betty" is all about the guys in Betty's life and there are interviews with America Ferrera, Freddy Rodriguez, Silvio Horta, Christopher Gorham, James Hayman, and others. A cool watch, especially if you are rooting for Betty to end up with a great guy.
Wrapping Up: There were some really funny episodes in this second season. Some talented guest stars like Gabrielle Union and Betty White joined Lindsay Lohan (in a little cameo). This show is still a warm-hearted hoot and the extras here are unique and really add to your enjoyment of the show. I'd say buy this one fast and start watching before season 3!
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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.
