Release Date (UK) – 7 May 2010
Certificate (UK) – 12A
Country – USA
Director – Alan Poul
Runtime – 106 mins
Starring – Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Loughlin
Jennifer Lopez films have a bad reputation, and after seeing this one slammed by other reviewers I was quite surprised when I sat down to watch it. Yes, there’s nothing original or stand-out about The Back-up Plan, but if you take it on face value as a harmless rom-com then it’s certainly not disappointing. It seems that people are too keen to judge on face value, and didn’t really give the film itself a chance.
The premise of The Back-up Plan is pretty simple. Lopez plays New York girl Zoe; unable to find her perfect man but yearning for a family of her own, she is artificially inseminated in the hope of having a baby. As she leaves the fertility clinic a chance encounter with stranger Stan (O’Loughlin) leads to the two eventually falling in love. However Zoe soon discovers she is pregnant, and has to explain to Stan that she is having someone else’s baby.
This is an old fashioned romantic comedy, with a straightforward love story and no attempts at satirical or postmodern humour which recent films of the genre attempt. The comedy often derives from visual slapstick gags, and although it’s not particularly hilarious even the most hardened hearted viewer will find themselves chuckling occasionally. Cynics will see The Back-up Plan as predictable and clichéd, but the film never pretends to be anything else and it’s a perfectly watchable and entertaining film for rom-com enthusiasts.
Jennifer Lopez is neither a terifiic nor awful actress, with an unremarkable but still credible performance here. Meanwhile, Alex O’Loughlin is a relative newcomer who gives us a similar nonchalant character study. If you like a predictable and soppy rom-com and go weak at the knees at the sight of a cute baby, then you’ll find The Back-up Plan an entertaining and inoffensive watch. However, there’s not much appeal for a male audience so it’s probably best to go as a girly night out.
