palabras Rodrigo Salazar

The success of movies like "Superbad" and most recently "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is heralding a new, brainier approach to comedy. The man behind these movies (Judd Apatow) has identified a definitive blend of slapstick and the humor behind uncomfortable situations that many have found hilarious.

Tina Fey's new movie "Baby Mama" mines these same tropes to find comedy gold. I was expecting the movie to just be about Fey's character (Kate Holbrook) and her having to deal with the loveable redneck childbearer Angie Ostrowiski (played by Amy Pohler).

Thankfully, the plot develops and even though it has a tendency to get a bit hokey (an independent juice bar owner played by Greg Kinnear keeps railing against "the man" ... Jamba Juice) there is always something that saves it from itself. In this case, its the brilliant turn by Steve Martin as Barry, the owner of the franchise that Kate works for.

Martin plays a new agey millionaire entrepreneur that owns a franchise of Whole Foods-esque markets. The Saturday Night Live legend owns the role.

SNL executive producer Lorne Micheals also produced this one, but this is Fey's film through and through. Kate is as neurotic as you would expect Fey to be in real life. Romany Malco cashes another check as the black dude that understands these crazy white women (you might recognize him from the Showtime series "Weeds").

Poehler's Angie is funny, but loveable. I won't give away plot points, but you end up rooting for someone that totally screwed up both her life and the Kate's life. The way that Kate parties it up when the two women go out dancing had everyone rolling.

Medical and ethical issues that are risky to deal with in general are handled well throughout. Even though they were uncomfortable situations, the laughs elicited by the audience at the screening I went to were definitely not uncomfortable. Director Micheal McCullers does a good job of making us feel at ease with these topics.

The fact that everything is tied up with a nice big bow at the end doesn't take away from the hilarity of the film. "Baby Mama" is definitely a "chick flick" you will not feel bad about being dragged to.