Movie Review: 'The Back-Up Plan' - A generic and unfunny romantic comedy - Fort Lauderdale Movie

Jennifer Lopez tries a little too hard to play cutsie in the dull "The Back-Up Plan" PHOTO: CBS Films

“The Back-Up Plan” is a dull, predictable and frustrating “romantic comedy” that lacks genuine laughs, interesting characters and a compelling romance– you know, everything a good romantic comedy needs. Though stars Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin share passable chemistry, the film is more or less a dumb, unfunny version of “Knocked Up.”

THE BACK-UP PLAN

Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) is a stunning 30-something New Yorker who hasn’t found Mr. Right (Yup, Jennifer Lopez has trouble finding a good man). So instead of growing old and never finding the right “penis partner,” she goes ahead and does what any sane person would do – she artificially inseminates herself! This being a romantic comedy, fate has other plans in mind. Just as the overly optimistic Zoe leaves the fertility clinic, she bumps into Mr. Right in a conventional romantic comedy “meet cute” setup. Mr. Right is Stan (Alex O'Loughlin) – A charming, funny, excessively confident cheese maker whose hobbies include cheesy one-liners, stealing cabs and taking his shirt off. But just as things begin to heat up, Zoe finds out that she’s indeed pregnant. Talk about bad luck, right? How will she tell Stan the truth? Oh wait, the trailer spoils that scene. So the big question now is will Stan jump ship or sail on with Zoe. Fortunately for her (and unfortunately for the rest of us), Stan decides to go along for the ride. A series of tragic attempts at comedy and romance follow culminating in the requisite rush to the hospital scene.

I really wanted to like “The Back-Up Plan,” I really did. I’d been really harsh on romantic comedies lately so I figured maybe I’ll give this one a chance. I even skipped most of the trailers, trying to keep an open mind. On hindsight, maybe I should have because I wouldn’t have had to endure the inane jokes, the terrible dialogues ("You are such a stupid-head!"), the crap acting and sheer ridiculousness of the whole thing.

J.Lo concedes to Laughlin in a topless contest in "The Back-Up
Plan. PHOTO: CBS Films

Next to nothing in “The Back-Up Plan” works! There simply isn’t anything in this film that you haven’t seen before. To call this film a cliché would be a compliment. It may not be as bad as last month’s idiotic action/romantic comedy hybrid “The Bounty Hunter” which coincidently stars another mediocre actress named Jennifer, but it’s close. Like “The Bounty Hunter,” “The Back-Up Plan” has no reason to even exist other than to function as a lame, manufactured star vehicle for Lopez. And this is as manufactured and assembly-line as they come! Think of a romantic comedy archetype and you’ll find it. There’s the comic best friend who’s a shoulder to cry on; the cute pet with an impediment (in this case: a Chihuahua with no hind legs); the quirky workspaces and coworkers, the wise and dirty old grandmother, the disastrous first date, the gratuitous shirtless scene, the cheesy romantic ballad montage, the last-minute dash to save face… you know what, never mind.

Even the film’s two best scenes – an over-the-top child-birth sequence that evoked memories of “The Exorcist” more than anything and a scene featuring a quirky doctor who repeatedly shouts the word “vagina” – feel stale because, let’s face it, we’ve seen identical and way funnier scenarios in previous pregnancy comedies like “Knocked Up” and “Nine Months.”

Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Laughlin in "The Back-Up Plan
PHOTO: CBS Films

There was a time when Jennifer Lopez was considered a talented, up-and-coming actress. This was 12 years ago when she had just starred in “Selena” and Steven Soderbergh’s “Out of Sight.” It’s after she started taking lead roles in middle-brow romantic comedies like “Monster-In-Law” and “The Wedding Planner” and atrocious turkeys like “Gigli” that her career took a dive bomb. “The Back-Up Plan” is no “Gigli” but it definitely is a big mistake. Lopez spends most of the film speaking in a fake “I’m trying too hard to be adorable” accent, being clumsy, cutsie and just unfunny. While she’s not Jennifer Aniston or Jessica Alba bad, it’s embarrassing to see a once-promising actress waste her career on drivel like this. Maybe it’s time she picks a strong supporting role in a very good movie instead of a lame lead in a bad movie. As for her co-star Alex O’ O’Laughlin. He’s fares a bit better but as his resume states, he’s better off on television.

BOTTOM LINE: “The Back-Up Plan” is an unnecessary romantic comedy that simply said is a waste of time and money for everyone involved – be it the viewer, the filmmakers or Jennifer Lopez. I’d compare it to a B-grade television movie but I’d be insulting the television community. If you want your romantic comedy fix, I suggest you watch “Date Night;” If you’ve already seen “Date Night,” then re-rent “Knocked Up!”

GRADE:

THE BACK-UP PLAN
Directed by: Alan Poul
Written by: Kate Angelo
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin, Michaela Watkins, Anthony Anderson
Rated: PG-13 (for sexual content including references, some crude material and language)