Share

Watch It

On DVD: Now | On Blu-ray: Now

The Back-up Plan Review

Movies.com Critics

1.0

Dave White Profile

Pregnancy for Dummies. Read full review

2.0

Jen Yamato Profile

Plan C: Watch something else. Read full review

Other Critics provided by Metacritic.com

Critics scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 2.0
    34

    out of 100

    Metascore®
    Generally unfavorable reviews
    based on a weighted average of all
    critic review scores.

  • 25

    out of 100

    Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

    Some movies are no better than second-rate sitcoms. Other movies are no better than third-rate sitcoms. The Back-up Plan doesn't deserve comparison with sitcoms. It plays like an unendurable TV commercial about beautiful people with great lifestyles and not a thought in their empty little heads.

    Read Full Review

  • 40

    out of 100

    Los Angeles Times Betsy Sharkey

    Good slapstick is actually an art -- unfortunately not one practiced here -- and bad slapstick is just tedious.

    Read Full Review

  • 50

    out of 100

    USA Today Claudia Puig

    When it comes to comedies about pregnancy, "Knocked Up" and "Baby Mama" delivered more. This sitcom style exercise in planned parenthood is blandly predictable. If it were a cheese, it would be Velveeta.

    Read Full Review

  • 50

    out of 100

    Variety Brian Lowry

    This tepid romantic comedy falls somewhere between a weak sitcom pilot and a second-tier Hallmark movie.

    Read Full Review

  • 50

    out of 100

    The New York Times Manohla Dargis

    A not very good and yet painless waste of time.

    Read Full Review

  • 50

    out of 100

    ReelViews James Berardinelli

    This is the film to watch when pretty much everything else has been sold out and the only remaining choices are The Back-Up Plan and the latest Rob Schneider opus.

    Read Full Review

  • 60

    out of 100

    The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

    Jennifer Lopez carries this thin concept about as far and as well as she can, with Alex O'Loughlin in his first leading-man outing managing not to get lost in the shuffle.

    Read Full Review

  • 67

    out of 100

    Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

    As a romantic comedy, The Back-up Plan is friendly but also a bit drab.

    Read Full Review

  • See all The Back-up Plan reviews at Metacritic.com

For Families provided by Common Sense Media

Iffy for 15+

J.Lo romcom bursts with frank pregnancy, sex talk.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Back-up Plan is a romantic comedy thatdeals frankly with sex and pregnancy, even though it contains verylittle actual nudity and the story itself is fairly chaste. There is one notable scene of a natural birth in which a naked, pregnant womansquats in an inflatable swimming pool; in one brief shot (played forcomedy), her entire body is visible through the water. The movie alsocontains strong language, including one "f--k" and at least half-a-dozen uses of "s--t." Ultimately, the gruesome details of childbirth andlooming parenthood may be unappealing and perhaps even terrifying toteens, but some parents may find something to laugh about.

  • Families can talk about how the movie portrays pregnancy. Teens: What opinions did this movie leave you with about pregnancy and parenthood? Was this a realistic scenario?
  • Do you think this movie reinforces or challenges any stereotypes about male-female relationships? How do romantic comedies, in general, portray intimate relationships?
  • Teens: Could you relate to any of the experiences or ideas about taking care of kids that came up in the movie? How did this movie portray kids and the practice of caring forthem?

The good stuff
  • message true1

    Messages: The movie's ultimate point is that couples should learn to communicateand trust one another before jumping to conclusions and assuminganything. The lead characters must overcome many obstacles -- oftenrelated to the complexity of having children -- before they achievethis. Unfortunately, the movie can also be somewhat cynical and has theside effect of making childbirth and parenthood look unappealing.

  • rolemodels true1

    Role models: The characters in the movie are fairly flimsy, with narrow behaviorpatterns. Stan is annoying, but once he decides to stay with thepregnant Zoe, he sticks to his guns throughout, no matter how tough itgets for him.

What to watch for
  • violence false1

    Violence: There are some arguments and some shouting, and a few moments ofslapstick, but nothing major.

  • sex false3

    Sex: There is very frank talk about sex and pregnancy, including the names of body parts and some unfortunate little details (such as uncontrollablebowel movements during a birth). The main character, Zoe, isartificially inseminated through a sperm donor, and we see and hearabout this process. There's a scene of a natural birth (played forlaughs) that includes a shot of a pregnant woman squatting naked in aninflatable pool; everything is visible through the water. Otherwise, the main couple (Zoe and Stan) flirts, kisses, and has sex, though nothingis shown. Zoe has a noisy orgasm, and Stan appears shirtless in onescene. In another scene, Zoe checks out her pregnant body in the mirror, but ducks out of sight a second later.

  • language false3

    Language: We hear strong, but not constant language, including one "f---k" and atleast half-a-dozen uses of "s--t." Also in earshot: "Oh my God," "Jesus" (as an exclamation), "vagina,""pee," "sperm," "ass," "stupid," "penis," "damn," "hell," "bitch,""douchebag."

  • consumerism false1

    Consumerism: The couple likes to eat at Gray's Papaya, a real hot dog restaurant inNew York. But otherwise, not an issue.

  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2

    Drinking, drugs and smoking: Zoe and Stan drink some wine during a date. Zoe's best friend Monaguzzles a glass of champagne in one scene, for comic effect. No one gets drunk. Zoe does not drink while pregnant.

Fan Reviews provided by

5

Review title (optional)
Review body (optional)

4

Good movie. Very relevent. by tlynnhank
Love this movie. We always try to rush things and make our own plans but God's plan is the best plan. The key is to be patient and just WAIT!

4

by QBad3

3

by dragonflytink

Advertisement