Baby, Baby, Baby

Two struggling young artists in Los Angeles.

He's an actor, mostly in commercials; she's a painter, tending bar by night. They meet cute; fall in love; move in together; fall out of love and try to figure out what went wrong.

That's the setup for writer/director Brian Klugman's romantic comedy "Baby Baby Baby."

The multitasking Klugman plays Sydney, the actor, while my fellow Toledo, Ohio, native Adrianne Palicki (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Friday Night Lights) portrays Sunny, the artist. The plot is nothing extraordinary, but both deliver engaging performances.

What is extraordinary? The totally unexpected celebrity cameos!

As Sydney attempts a transition from actor to writer, Klugman offers up three, once-scene vignettes to illustrate his thoughts – each acted out by celebrities. There is an Oscar winner, a cultural icon, an A-list leading man, an enduring beauty, a former comedian/sitcom actor; and a TV president/insurance pitchman. I have no idea how Klugman persuaded them to appear in his indie romcom, though I'm told that if you put in the time in Hollywood and aren't an asshole, you can generate a lot of goodwill.

Kelsey Grammar (Cheers, Frasier) also appears, in more than a cameo, playing a European gallery owner who gives Sunny her big break.

"Baby Baby Baby" is okay romcom with some drama. But it's the brilliantly written, brilliantly funny scenes with the celebrity cameos that put it in the "worth seeing" category.

Simple little romantic comedy with a beautiful girl and a hapless suitor. She is attracted to his making her laugh and being sweet. He is attracted to her being gorgeous and sexy ... not to mention talented and smart. (I had to check her name and filmography because she looked so familiar. Turns out I watched Adrianne for years in Friday Night Lights. What a hottie!)

There are surprising cameos by A-list actors in short, hilarious vignettes. (The one with William Shatner was my favorite.)

Their courtship is filled with funny lines and his fantasy short stories about relationships. I laughed and laughed!

All is well until his insecurity kicks in. What makes it so cringe-worthy is the knowledge as the viewer, that unpleasant things will surely happen.

That it ends on a pleasant, believable way seals the deal.

This is a great little movie.

You can tell there is something in the writing and the directing and in so many areas. But everything here looks like potential and then most of it ends up ugly. In its effort to be honest it did have at least one really great gritty truth that resonated for me personally. But for the most part it was way too based in the lives of people who lack any foundation to manage to do well. For that matter I suppose that may be the essence of the writer and director, lacking a solid foundation. I so wanted to like this more than I did. And I did watch to the bitter end.

This witty and charming film is funny in smart, slapstick and subtle ways, with sharp insights on relationships and the insecurities that always lurk in the background.

Every few minutes there's another surprise. A procession of A-list actors star in fanciful vignettes throughout the story, a bold director's touch that adds a sort of live-action cartoon element you don't see very often.

Klugman (who also wrote and directed) and Palicki turn in outstanding performances, alternately exhilarated and vulnerable in ways that make the viewer care about them and relate to them.

Highly recommend this heartfelt and hilarious film.

Sydney (Brian Klugman) is a single actor who is too much in his head. A friend urges, nearly forces, him to approach a woman in the park, and that is how me meets Sunny (Adrianne Palicki), a bartender with dreams of being a recognized artist. She is attractive, fun-loving, kind, almost perfect, so Sydney's self-doubts kick in, and he wonders if he deserves her. Will he just lose her?

Klugman--the writer, director, actor-uses internal monologues and "stories" to illustrate the concerns of daters, like how much baggage is too much. Sydney, who is reminiscent of a neurotic Woody Allen character, digs too much and overreacts to minor issues. Losing a major relationship can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, which Sydney knows, but he cannot help himself.

This film delves into relationship issues. It is a tragic-comedic exploration that reveals little new ground, but Klugman and Palicki are fun to watch, so I can recommend it to most who like rom-coms.