I’ll admit I’ve never seen any of the movies from the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, which include such deathless titles as “Super-Troopers,” “Beerfest” and “The Slammin’ Salmon.”
And now, on the basis of “The Babymakers,” I’m not likely to. It’s not as if these films have been bubbling around the underground circuit, building long-term word-of-mouth, the way something like “Wet Hot American Summer” has over the years. Having missed that film when it was released in 2001, I eventually circled back and checked it out, 10 years later, to discover that it was, in fact, deeply overrated.
“The Babymakers” wants to be a Judd Apatow comedy (a genre which should be defined as both raunchily funny and invariably overlong). Instead, it’s like a third-rate Comedy Central sitcom (which, with only a couple of exceptions, are themselves pretty third-rate), with dirty words, little nudity and fewer laughs than fingers on one hand.
Things you do to yourself with one hand: That’s a running theme in this movie and, really, the perfect metaphor for the film itself.
Paul Schneider and Olivia Munn play Tommy and Audrey, a couple who, on their third anniversary, decide to have a baby. One problem: Tommy’s shooting blanks, thanks to a series of shots to the groin he’s taken over the years (shown in an unhilarious montage).
This review continues on my website.