BEFORE: Something for Mother's Day, but still sticking with the business theme. Linking from George Clooney, who was in "Ocean's Thirteen" with Al Pacino, who was in "The Godfather" with Diane Keaton (last seen in "The First Wives Club").
THE PLOT: The life of super-yuppie J.C. is thrown into turmoil when she inherits a baby from a distant relative.
AFTER: Ah, the unexpected baby inherited from a relative. Because it would have been too hard to show a businesswoman with an unplanned pregnancy? That would have actually given her time to arrange maternity leave, and we can't have that...
Diane Keaton played these flustered feminist characters very well, unfortunately I'm not sure that's something to be proud of. Honestly I wasn't sure if she was supposed to be a liberal or a conservative here - she's got a corporate job that she seems to be good at - but her "Tiger Lady" attitude seems to be in conflict with her sensibilities. And later she becomes this corporate-type mogul in a very hippie-granola part of Vermont.
Ah, the New York business-world. If you can't make it there, just move to Vermont! And buy a very overpriced house (sucker!) despite knowing NOTHING about how to maintain it. I just laughed as the various parts of the house fell apart...but it was mean-spirited laughter, not the comedic kind.
And there's nothing more annoying than these type-A mothers who make their own low-sugar organic baby food, and then try to turn that into a viable business. No problem, just head to the library (in a small town?) and do some market-research. (what if your market research tells you it's a BAD idea?) Why can't they just be happy making enough organic baby food to feed their own kids - doesn't that save you enough money, do you have to sink the rest of your money into a small business? I've baked my own bread and brewed my own beer, just for fun - with admittedly mixed results. Why does every mother with a blender think she's the next Martha Stewart, Inc.?
NITPICK POINT: Let's be realistic - that organic baby food probably tastes terrible, since it's low-sugar. And if you're not using preservatives like the big companies, how's it going to ship across the country and have a shelf-life?
NITPICK POINT #2: She suddenly gets the idea to make applesauce during a winter storm - what was she doing with the apples before this? Did they all just fall on the ground and rot? Or did she pick them (by herself?) and not use them? Who the heck buys an orchard without a way (or desire) to sell the apples?
In retrospect, I wonder just what kind of feminist this lead character is. She can't change a tire, she hired burly male movers to move her furniture when her boyfriend didn't want to help raise a baby, she was at the mercy of (incompetent?) workmen when the house in Vermont needed repairs, and she dropped things whenever the hunky town veterinarian was nearby. The worst kind of feminist is a woman who THINKS she's a feminist, but folds whenever things don't go her way. Did she really pick all the apples herself, or did she hire (shudder...) men to do it? Give me a break. Sure, ladies, you can have it all - if you somehow have enough money and can hire nannies to raise your daughter for you.
Also starring Harold Ramis (last seen in "Knocked Up"), Sam Shepard (last seen in "Black Hawk Down"), James Spader (last seen in "Wolf"), Pat Hingle (last seen in "Going Berserk"), with cameos from Mary Gross, Victoria Jackson.
RATING: 4 out of 10 dinner meetings
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