Baby Boom - Eine schöne Bescherung

Some movies are just fun to watch -- and this is one of those for me. Diane Keaton is one of the most engaging, likable actresses, in any role, and this one is perfect for her. The story doesn't hold a lot of suspense -- you know where it is going early-on, but that doesn't lessen the enjoyment. All of the supporting characters/actors, in both the sophisticated/big-city/New York setting, and in rural Vermont, are well-cast and likable as well. Keaton and co-star Sam Shepard are also engaging as a couple, with humorous contentions at first, and the romance soon following.

The rapidity and degree of her success in her Vermont business venture are somewhat unbelievable (even despite her prestigious business background), but so what?

Simply a thoroughly enjoyable, funny, pleasant and uplifting viewing.

In New York, the executive J.C. Wiatt (Diane Keaton) is a successful business woman that prioritizes her work in a publicity agency over her personal life. Her boss Fritz Curtis (Sam Wanamaker) calls her tiger lady and invites J.C. to be partner of the agency provided she brings the account of the company owned by Hughes Larrabee (Pat Hingle) to the agency. One night, J.C. is sleeping with her boyfriend Steven Buchner (Harold Ramis) and receives a phone call from England telling that she has an inheritance something from her cousin that died in an accident with his wife. J.C. believes it is money but receives their daughter, the baby girl Elizabeth, instead. Soon she feels connected to the baby, turning her life upside-down: Steven breaks with her; her assistant Ken Arrenberg (James Spader) steals Larrabee´s account in the agency; and J.C. loses her job. She decides to buy a huge real estate in Vermont to raise Elizabeth and finds many unexpected problems in the old house. But soon she sees an opportunity to develop new business while she meets the veterinarian Dr. Jeff Cooper (Sam Shepard) giving another sense to her life.

"Baby Boom" is a funny comedy about a tough executive that changes her life after inheriting a baby girl. The plot has silly and exaggerated moments, but is hilarious most of the time. Diane Keaton has good performance and the baby Elizabeth is cute. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil):"Presente de Grego" ("A Curse in Disguise")

It's easy to be cynical about Baby Boom for all it's cuteness, cliches and high concept comedy about a 'yuppie' businesswoman juggling her career with looking after a baby after unexpectedly inheriting one from a distant relative. The soundtrack, power dressing, high energy and 'greed is good' attitude is all very 1980's and it's the perfect star vehicle for Diane Keaton.

She has of course demonstrated her sense of comic timing, on-screen presence and dramatic ability many times before whilst working with Woody Allen but it's nice to see Keaton come into her own here and carry the movie. With a good supporting cast and husband & wife team of Charles Shyer and Nancy Myers at the helm, who scored many hits with similar romantic comedies since, this is a sweet, lighthearted diversion in a similar vein to Three Men and a Baby released the same year.

The film is almost in two halves, the first half is set in the high rolling corporate world of New York, where Keaton's character is at the top of her game and making waves as a woman set to become a partner of a large corporation, whose lifestyle and career aspirations are thrown into turmoil when the baby comes into her life. The second half is where she retreats to the country after effectively being fired from her job in the City and sets up a cottage industry selling baby food that is so successful it brings her back to the corporate world on her own terms.

It is of course an unlikely scenario and more of an urban fairy tale but it is so likeable and good natured that you can overlook the cliches and spoonfuls of schmaltz it delivers and enjoy being swept along by Keaton's funny and charming performance.

Sweeter than sugar Keaton is delightfully charming in this pleasant comedy about a high powered business executive who lives in her work, until she inherits a baby girl from distant relatives who have been killed. Lovely all the way through with a witty script from Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer and good support from the always wonderful Shepard and from Sam Wannamaker.

I saw this movie years ago and enjoyed it for Diane Keaton's performance. Having revisited it in 2012, I realized that we have changed A LOT. The fast paced "Tiger Lady" that J.C. Wiatt portrays still exist, but imagine what her life would've been like if the internet was still possible. It's really hard not to root for her. J.C. is a windup toy that is wound too tight. A life on a ticking clock. So driven to succeed that she doesn't even realize when she obtains success. The fine line that Keaton skates is dated (unfortunately). A lot of this schtick wouldn't hold to today's audience, but in the context of the era, it's a great reminder of the yuppies that dominated the Reagan era.

Cue in, cute baby. She does what the story needs her to do, which is to slow down Keaton's life. Force her to see what's important. And the message is WAY too predictable but...it's still a nice journey. Again, if you follow Keaton's work, this is a very nice film that allows her to juggle through her neurosis. And it has a LOT of fun moments. It made me miss the 80's.