Three
years of marriage have evidently taken a toll on Tommy Macklin. He paid for his wife’s wedding ring by making
“deposits” at the sperm bank, but now that they are trying to get pregnant, his
stuff has lost its get-up-and-go.
Obviously, the wisest course of action would be to break-in and steal
the last of his vintage brew. That is
indeed the plan in Jay Chandrasekhar’s The
Babymakers (trailer
here), which
opens this Friday in New York.
Macklin
might strike viewers as more of an Apatowesque man-boy than good potential
father stock, but his wife Audrey Macklin is ready to give it a shot anyway. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t seem to
take. Given his secret moonlighting in
the past, Macklin is convinced it cannot possibly be him. However, when he finally agrees to a check-up
he learns his mojo has left him. Tracking
down his potent samples, Macklin learns there is only one test tube left—and that
is slated to be shipped out in a manner of days.
Not
to worry, Macklin’s doofus-buddies have a plan.
They will hire the sketchy Ron Jon, allegedly a former second story man
for the Mumbai mafia, to mastermind their heist. Complications arise.
Directed
by comedy troupe co-founder Chandrasekhar (who also appears as Ron Jon), Babymakers is sort of, but not really a
Broken Lizard film, featuring co-member Kevin Heffernan and several regulars
from their previous films, including Nat Faxon (who is fusion drummer Stave
Gadd’s son-in-law, according to imdb).
It is certainly similar in tone to The Slammin’ Salmon, combining some tasteless gags with a soft-hearted
affection for their characters.
Paul
Schneider and Olivia Munn look the part as the Macklins and also handle their
sexually charged banter fairly nicely.
Heffernan’s big lug Wade is certainly game for all manner of physical
comedy, while in a Cosmo Kramer-ish turn, Chandrasekhar goes all in, heedless
of political correctness or good judgment.
