Baby Blues -- Nine Months -- (Film Review 5)

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Samuel and Rebecca, two thirty-somethings, are celebrating the fifth anniversary of their relationship with a picnic on the beach. Rebecca catches sight of a toddler building a sand castle, gets dreamy eyes and asks Samuel if he doesn't think that something is missing. He hasn't got the foggiest what she's talking about. Haven't they got everything? They love each other, have good jobs - he's a child psychiatrist, she a ballet teacher - he's got a beautiful flat overlooking the skyline of San Francisco and an open-top convertible Porsche. What more can a man want? Fate is on Rebecca's side and soon afterwards she becomes pregnant although she takes the pill. Samuel freaks out, has nightmares, sees Rebecca transmogrifying into a giant praying mantis about to devour him alive. The ending is clear right from the beginning. Something will change Samuel's opinion and there will be a Happy Ever After. In the words of film critic Roger Elbert, "Nine Months is one of those movies where the outcome is abundantly clear to everyone but the hero, who remains in the hapless position of playing dumb because if he didn't, there wouldn't be a plot." To choose Hugh Grant for a child hating psychologist was an absurd decision. Try as I may I can't understand this man's fascination. As an actor he's a one-trick pony. A stammering, gawking adult acting like an imbecile can be charming once, but in film after film? Nine Months didn't bomb in the US of A, however, which can only be seen as another proof that a 'cute' British accent is enough to enthuse an American audience no matter what is said in this accent. Juliane Moore is pretty and nice, I can't say anything against her. But to be honest, many other pretty and nice actresses could have played Rebecca. Until labour starts the film is a romantic relationship drama. I'm not using the term romcom on purpose because I can't detect the 'com' part. From the moment Rebecca is in labour, the film becomes a farce of the lowest order. I have nothing against farces as such. If they're well made, they amuse me, but if they're badly made and are glued to a story of a completely different genre, they don't. Robin Williams must have been in dire need of money when he accepted the rôle of Dr. Kosevich, a vet from Russia turned ob-gyn ("When you've seen one rat, you've seen them all") with a poor grasp of English. ("You don't want natural child birth?" ..."You want Anastasia?"). I was not in stitches or lolling like other reviewers. The chaotic ride to the hospital and the mayhem in the operating theatre were just too silly and unfunny for yours truly. If this is humour, I'd rather have none. To come to a conclusion: If you're not a hard core Hugh Grant fan, don't watch the film. Clean your kitchen instead. Two stars because the child psychiatrist's flat and the view of the San Francisco skyline are beautiful. Trailer: