“My Baby’s Daddy” (Miramax)
Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson and Michael Imperioli star in the comedy “My Baby’s Daddy” which is basically “Three Men and A Baby” but this time with a baby for each man. The movie has some moments of real humor but its true impact comes from the statement it makes about owning up to your responsibilities, especially with your children.
Lonnie (Griffin), G (Anderson) and Dominic (Imperioli) are three men who are coasting through life. They live in a house owned by G’s uncle (John Amos) and are not motivated to do much about getting ahead in life. All three have girlfriends and all three get them pregnant simultaneously. They also miraculously become fathers on the same day.
Once the babies have arrived the men are forced to have some connection with them. Still these guys are not big on taking responsibility for their kids. G works for his girlfriend’s parents but he manages to alienate them without much effort. His girlfriend (Bai Ling) is a patient soul but soon her patience is running short.
Lonnie’s girlfriend (Paula Jai Parker) is a woman who is irresponsible herself. She sees her baby as a chance to get money out of Lonnie, and that is the only good thing about it. It takes Lonnie a while to see how worthless she is and how much better the baby will be with him.
Dom is a father because of a one-night stand. His girlfriend doesn’t want to be married to him or any other man. So even if he wants to be part of his baby’s life, he might not get the opportunity.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual situations.
What makes this movie a little bit better than you expect is the moral tome it takes towards the end of the film. It gets its message of being a responsible adult across without being too preachy and with a lot of humor.
Anderson is a wonderful comic and can make any scene a funny one. Griffin manages to be sane and funny at the same time, while Imperioli is just the token white guy in the movie.
“My Baby’s Daddy” is a lot better than you expect, while not being a super comedy. It does have its moments and that responsibility message, which is enough to make it worth seeing.
I scored “My Baby’s Daddy” a diapered 5 out of 10.
