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When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

From film debuting writer/director Ben Elton (co-creator of Blackadder, writer of The Thin Blue Line and star of Friday/Saturday Night Live), I had heard bad things about this film, but with a good cast of British stars I will still wanting to see it. Basically Lucy Bell (Joely Richardson) and Sam Bell (Hugh Laurie) are the happy couple with good looks, successful careers and a great love life, but what they long for is a baby, and it doesn't seem to be working. They get tested to make sure they can conceive, and everything seems pretty normal, and they try different methods for helping with conception, such as new age therapy, acupuncture, creative sex, and more besides, and these do not work either. So eventually Lucy and Sam decide upon the medical option, by having professionals, such as gynaecologist Mr. James (Rowan Atkinson), checking everything and trying to make the process more likely to work, and they have support from their friends, including hippie Druscilla (Emma Thompson). At the same time, Sam has been suffering writer's block, he works at the BBC as a commissioning editor, and he has to come up with a new idea for a comedy film, and unknown to Lucy he finds inspiration in their struggles, and her private diary. His work friend George (Adrian Lester) knows that he will be in big trouble with his wife if he does not tell her the truth about his writing inspiration, and the new film that is being made, and she is mortified when she finds out for herself. The couple are parted by this incident, and even though the film is completed, with Sam praised for his writing, he does not feel complete without Lucy, who has meanwhile become pregnant. There is the point when they meet again, he apologises, and they make up, with Sam saying that he will look after the baby when it is born, but Lucy has a miscarriage, and in the end all we know is that they carried on trying and trying, it is unclear whether they did get a baby. Also starring Resident Evil's James Purefoy as Carl Phipps, Pirate of the Caribbean's Tom Hollander as Ewan Proclaimer, Matthew Macfadyen as Nigel, Joanna Lumley as Sheila, Dawn French as Charlene and Eden Lake's Kelly Reilly as Nimnh. Laurie is a nice guy with sarcastic one liners, Richardson is sympathetic as the woman who can't get pregnant, and the other well known stars get their small moments, I will agree it is a little flat most of the time, and some of the on the nose jokes don't always work, the story was watchable enough, but overall it is a slightly silly romantic comedy. Adequate!

This is a simple movie. Well played and not overly dramatic. The only reason that it got a 9 was the "director" scenes with the drug happy, poorly played character. Considering the depth of the concept the film would have been better suited to a more caring character. It attempted to be a moment of comedy in a moving subject matter. Overall, this is a great movie if you are feeling emotional and want to watch a simple story unfold just as you hope, with twists and turns that make you wish for a happy ending. Without needing a spoiler alert; this film pushes the envelope on the Caucasian assumptions that we can get pregnant when ever we are ready vs. the more realistic ethnicities that understand that babies are made when our bodies are ready, not our careers.

"Maybe Baby" had quite a bit of potential – let me quickly list them off – a cast that is dynamite when it comes to comedy; a story that had the potential to be quite humorous, hysterical in fact; the parody of Danny Boyle could have been blown up considerably – adding to the goofiness of the plot; and finally, let me add, the cast again – Emma Thompson, Rowan Atkinson, Dawn French, and Hugh Laurie are some of the best that Britain has to offer and are typically guaranteed to make anyone in their right mind laugh. This said, why did this film hit the ground at the fastest speed possible thoroughly, and painfully, hurting everyone in it's path. "Maybe Baby" is quite possibly one of the worst films that I have seen this year because it is the biggest disappointment with such potential that I have ever witnessed. Our story is simple to write down, but on screen it is utterly disastrous. The BBC wants to be more cutting edge, Sam and Lucy want children but cannot conceive (does anyone see the humor yet), so we combine the pair. Sam begins writing about his life with his wife, the trials and tribulations of medically attempting to conceive, mixed with funny jokes that somehow only make the cast members laugh. Lucy finds out the truth, Sam grows a beard, and the end – well, is everything one would expect from an American romantic comedy. No surprises. No laughter. No excitement. Overall, I have discovered an American Hollywood film trying to pass as British intelligence. I call it The "Maybe Baby" Conspiracy.I would like to begin this very negative review by saying Joely Richardson is by far one of the worst actresses I have witnessed in film. Maybe I haven't seen enough of her work to make that sort of comment, but after seeing "Maybe Baby", I feel confident in my response. Every scene was nothing but script reading and comic mis-timing. Nothing coming from her mouth seemed worth repeating or re-watching. She played the role of dumb blonde very, embarrassing, well. The scenes in which she has to show emotion was like watching cardboard try to cry, and that is not an over exaggeration. She attempts to show us a relationship with Sam (Hugh Laurie), but instead of a chemical romance, they seem to be enjoying the role of two actors playing a role. There is nothing to evoke emotion between the two of them. I didn't even think they were in "love" by the end of the film, they were a relationship of convenience and comfort. BEWARE! I need to add this about the remainder of the acting because this film may be misleading – Emma Thompson is in it for about three minutes, adding nothing of value or humor to the overall twist of the plot. Rowan Atkinson is a refreshing snack, but like everyone else, adds no meat to the film (it reminded me of Robin Williams in "Nine Months"). Then there is Dawn French – don't get me started here because it remains pitiful and a waste of talent. Coupled with the stagnet portrayals from the surrounding cast it just becomes a very painful moment in cinema as each minute passes.The plot is devastating. With a cliché storyline we already know how it will end and what the characters will be doing/reacting before they probably do, I would hope the typical British wit would resonate strongly with the actor's dialogue. That, alas, is missing from this film. We are bombarded with characters that care nothing about money, are emotionless unless forced to be, and driven by no inner motivation outside of the paycheck. The lyrics to this film are even painful. There were no funny, punny, or laughable moments throughout the course of this film, which irritated me to no end. With such a bold cast, I wanted to be rolling on the floor with hysterics, but alas, nothing happened. The stale emotion translated well into the stale voice being heard from each of the voided characters. I wanted charm, wit, talent, and appeal with this film. I wanted to prove that American dictatorship over film hadn't leaked into the BBC mainstream, but again – I couldn't believe that I was that wrong."Trainspotting" is a film that defined a nation and brought a new wave of cinema into our theaters. I don't think a horrid film like "Maybe Baby" has the right to poke fun at it. I don't mind intelligent hobnobbery, but with this film it was just plain rude to Danny Boyle.Overall, I cannot suggest this film to anyone even the most bland of comedy fans. Remember, if you choose to pick up this vile cinematic sludge, this is pre- "House" days, so do not see Laurie as what we Americans have come to expect from him. "Maybe Baby" is too big for its britches, as it tries to pack too much comedy into a nothingless film – thus transforming the comedy into a forgettable piece of garbage. There was nothing of value in this film, and while director Ben Elton has made his name in "Blackadder", I don't believe he has remembered much of his upbringing. After seeing this film, I would have to advise Elton to avoid working behind the cameras ever again. This was a very big disappointment for me as I had big hopes for this little film with big names.The subtitle for this film should be: Never Judge A DVD By Its Cover.Grade: * out of *****

I got a hold of this film only because I was interested in seeking out more of Hugh Laurie's work. I did not know what to expect - did not even know it was a comedy.And it turned out to be a hoot. One of the funniest films I've seen in a long time. I thought the screenplay was excellent. Fantastically clever dialogue.Now I'm very keen to embark on a quest to unearth whatever else screenwriter and director Ben Elton has done.One of the things I especially liked about how this film was put together was the way it combined absurdity and farce with a more conventional rom-com approach.The cameos by Emma Thompson and Rowan Atkinson were fall-out-of-your-seat hilarious (as were the more lengthy contributions of Matthew Macfadyen). At first I sort of wondered if they would jerk me out of involvement with the story line but they did not.In fact, I think this is a really smart approach to doing a comedy. Too much broad farce in one film can quickly lead to burn-out. But when it's limited for the most part to cameos, it's very welcome and entertaining and enhances rather than detracts from engagement with the plot.The casting in this film was inspired. Joely Richardson was perfect. Matthew Macfadyen could not have been better. James Purefoy was wonderful. As was Adrian Lester.Surprisingly, since it was his work specifically I was initially looking forward to seeing, Hugh Laurie's was the only performance in which I was somewhat disappointed. Laurie seemed to go out of his way to low-key it. I think he chose to go too minimalist in his interpretation of his character. Just my opinion. But hey, Hugh Laurie, even not at his best is still pretty darn terrific.I think writer and director Ben Elton created an exceptionally entertaining and at times very moving film that is very much worth seeing. In fact, I think this film has the potential to have the lifespan and long reach of many of the screwball comedies of the 40s.