Follow @screenit

"THE BACK-UP PLAN" (2010) (Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Moderate Heavy Minor None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None None None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Moderate Heavy Minor QUICK TAKE: Romantic Comedy: After being artificially inseminated, a single woman meets the man of her dreams and must figure out not only how to tell him, but also how to proceed from there. PLOT: Zoe (JENNIFER LOPEZ) is a pet shop owner -- and boss to Clive (ERIC CHRISTIAN OLSEN) and Daphne (NOUREEN DeWULF) -- who isn't interested in getting into a romantic relationship. After all, her only family role model, grandmother Nana (LINDA LAVIN), has been dating Arthur (TOM BOSLEY) for years but never settled down. Yet, she wants children -- against the advice of her best friend and experienced mom, Mona (MICHAELA WATKINS) -- and thus has Dr. Harris (ROBERT KLEIN) artificially inseminate her. While waiting to see if that takes, she accidentally meets cheese producer Stan (ALEX O'LOUGHLIN), who's instantly smitten with her, although the feeling initially isn't mutual. Even so, he eventually wears down her defenses and they become an item. But she then discovers that she's pregnant from the earlier procedure. All of which means she must figure out when, where and how to tell him, and then deal with his reaction to that and other related news, all as he confides in and seeks out advice from a dad (ANTHONY ANDERSON) he meets in a playground. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Those looking for a romantic comedy or who are fans of someone in the cast could be interested. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For sexual content including references, some crude material and language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JENNIFER LOPEZ plays a pet shop owner who isn't interested in being in a relationship, but wants to be a mother so she has herself artificially inseminated. But she must then contend with unintentionally falling for Stan and not only figuring out how to tell him that news, but must also deal with his attitude swings regarding the pregnancy. She has sex with him and uses profanity. ALEX O'LOUGHLIN plays a cheese producer who instantly falls for and pursues her, eventually wearing down her reluctance to date him. A college dropout who now goes to night school, he repeatedly alternates between being supportive and critical of and/or freaked out about Zoe and her pregnancy. He uses profanity and has sex with her. MICHAELA WATKINS plays Zoe's best friend who half-jokingly advises her and complains about pregnancy and motherhood. She uses some profanity. ANTHONY ANDERSON plays a dad who Stan meets in the playground and becomes something of his reality-check in terms of fatherhood. ERIC CHRISTIAN OLSEN plays Zoe's pet shop employee who's overly protective of her. NOUREEN DeWULF plays Zoe's other employee who's similarly protective of but also happy for her and her choices. LINDA LAVIN plays Zoe's grandmother who's been seeing Arthur for years, but never wanted to get hitched until now. She briefly uses strong profanity. TOM BOSLEY plays her long-time boyfriend. ROBERT KLEIN plays Zoe's doctor who helps with her pregnancy. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this romantic comedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present, as are scenes of fooling around (including a woman having an orgasm from that) leading to off-screen sex. Some women are seen in revealing attire, varying amounts of cleavage are present, and a pregnant woman's pubic hair is seen in a mirror reflection. Brief slapstick style material is present, as is a non-injurious single car crash played for comedy. Bad attitudes are present, as are several scenes featuring crude humor (including pregnancy related vomiting), and some tense family material and thematic elements are present. Some drinking occurs and other alcohol is present, as is some potentially imitative behavior as well as screaming and other intensity from labor pains and childbirth (although that's played for comedy). If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are a few moments of bouncy camera footage. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE In the cartoon credits, some people hold wine glasses that turn into baby bottles. Zoe asks Clive (her employee) if he'll be her "baby daddy," causing him to do a spit-take with his beer. When Stan arrives, Zoe asks if he wants a beer and he asks if she wants one. She says she'll let him know in a moment (after reading her pregnancy test). Zoe has wine (in front of her, we don't see her actually drink any) with Stan who then accidentally spills the bottle onto the table and her dress. Stan wants to open an organic store serving cheese, wine and such. Zoe's grandmother brings over champagne to celebrate her own pending marriage, but only Mona has some (and guzzles that down). People have champagne and beer at a wedding reception. People have champagne and there's a related toast at a store opening celebration. BLOOD/GORE Mona comments about what pregnancy does to one's bladder and then jokes that she just peed a little bit. Zoe sits on a toilet, places a pregnancy test stick between her legs, and after a bit of straining finally starts urinating (not seen, but we hear that). Her pet dog then grabs the stick that breaks when she tries to pull it away, with the dog swallowing the center part. Zoe returns home to find dog vomit on the floor (and in that, the missing part of her pregnancy test stick). Zoe vomits from being pregnant. Stan mentions something about having a bloody nose after having sex with Zoe, and wipes his nose, but we don't see anything. After examining Zoe's vagina, we see blood on Dr. Harris' gloved hand (which he says is normal). One of Stan's friend's kids walks up with a piece of excrement in his hand, saying it's "poo-poo." The guy asks if it's the boy's or a cat's, with more related talk. Zoe rushes off to vomit while pregnant. During a childbirth in an inflatable swimming pool inside a house, one person asks, "What is that?" in shock, with the group leader saying sometimes the bowels release during childbirth. A person then scoops that up with a small aquarium net or something similar (the excrement isn't actually seen). After the birth, we see the goo-covered infant, with Zoe then passing out and falling into the pool water. While in a conga line, Clive and those behind him slip backwards and fall. A person then asks why the floor is wet, an older man checks the front of his pants and is relieved it's not him, and Zoe then states her water just broke. A few months after the birth of their kids, Zoe tells Stan not to talk about one of the girl's "poo" when she (Zoe) wants to kiss him. He then gets on top of her and they kiss. Zoe suddenly vomits into a trash can (from being pregnant). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Zoe asks Clive (her employee) if he'll be her "baby daddy." Despite knowing she's pregnant, Zoe has wine (in front of her, we don't see her actually drink any). Mona refers to a woman earlier seen with Stan as "that muffin bitch." Zoe doesn't initially tell Stan she's pregnant by artificial insemination. Stan acts like a jerk toward Zoe when she states she's pregnant by artificial insemination. At various points in the film, Stan panics, gets angry or walks out upon the latest news about Zoe's pregnancy. Frantically trying to reach Stan on the phone, Zoe keeps dialing that while walking her grandmother down the wedding aisle. In response, Nana tells her she's going to chuck that phone into "the f*cking holy water" if she doesn't stop. Mona tells Stan's former girlfriend, "Your muffins suck ass." FRIGHTENING SCENES A table accidentally lights on fire during Zoe and Stan's outdoor date (they put it out, played for comedy). While played for comedy, some viewers might not like and/or be unsettled by the intense screaming from labor pains, especially in one several-minute scene. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Into the f*cking holy water," "Oh sh*t," "Bull-sh*t," "Holy sh*t," "Cat sh*t," "This wasn't even his sh*t," "Sh*tty," "Have you seen my vagina?" "Will you be my baby daddy?" "A penis partner," "Whore," "He's hot," "Screw the pillow," "Breast is best," "I'm totally freaking out," "Shut up," "You stupid head," "I still want to kick his ass," "Oh hell no," "You idiot," "We're freaking out," "A total douche-bag," "That muffin bitch," "What the hell /are you talking about/is going on here/am I waiting for?" "Get the hell out of here," "This sucks," "The pillow is a bitch," "Total fat asses," "It all went to my ass," "My old ass," "Like this ass, but way hotter," "Damn right," "Crazy pants," "Your muffins suck ass" and "Son of a bitch." In the cartoon credits, a flasher turns out to be fully dressed beneath his trench coat that contains baby items for sale. One of Mona's young kids runs around the house with a raw chicken on his head. Zoe asks Clive (her employee) if he'll be her "baby daddy," causing him to do a spit-take with his beer. A woman has a tattoo on her shoulder. We briefly see miscellaneous graffiti. Thinking she's alone, Zoe sops up some of Stan's stew with pieces of bread and stuffs them in her mouth, and wipes her mouth with a fresh piece of bread. One of Stan's friend's kids eats sand in a playground. That boy then walks up with a piece of excrement in his hand, saying it's "poo-poo." Zoe belches (played for comedy). A very pregnant Zoe climbs into and digs through a trash dumpster while trying to find her discarded pregnancy pillow. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 "f" word, 17 "s" words, 1 slang term for sex ("laid"), 10 asses, 5 hells, 3 damns, 1 S.O.B., 6 uses of "Oh God," 4 of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "God," "G-damn," "Jesus," "My God" and "Oh Jesus." SEX/NUDITY In the cartoon credits, a flasher turns out to be fully dressed beneath his trench coat that contains baby items for sale. We hear Zoe's thoughts while she's getting inseminated, including her saying if she was with a real guy (getting pregnant) she would have had a pedicure. At the same time, Dr. Harris comments that he's looking at her cervix (while between her legs in the doctor's office -- nothing seen) and not her toenails. Mona tells Zoe that the latter doesn't want to get pregnant, sarcastically asking if she's seen her (Mona's) vagina and then stating she'll show her (she doesn't). In a flashback, Zoe asks Clive (her employee) if he'll be her "baby daddy," causing him to do a spit-take with his beer. He then states he's in his sexual prime and needs to bed other women. She then says they don't need to have sex and then tells him to give her his sperm. He then asks if she's a little dead "down there." After being artificially inseminated, Zoe walks with her knees pushed together (to prevent leakage) but Dr. Harris tells her she doesn't need to do that. Clive comments that Zoe just got shot up with red-head sperm, prompting Mona to ask (grossed out) about red pubic hair. Zoe says she didn't see any of that and didn't feel anything, with Mona then joking that it's like sex with Clive, prompting him to reply, "You wish." Zoe holds and bunches up her tank top almost to the shape of just a bra as she checks her bare belly for any signs of pregnancy. At a single mom support group meeting, the leader states they do what they have to when they don't have a "penis partner." Various minor and miscellaneous female characters show varying amounts of cleavage (sometimes a lot) throughout the film. We see a mother breast-feeding her three-year-old daughter (no breast is seen, but a sucking sound is heard). When Zoe says she's not interested in getting into a relationship with a man, Stan jokingly asks if she's gay and she says she's not. About his ex-wife, Stan states that she didn't know how to not sleep with everyone at the inn they opened and tried to run, and then uses the term "whore" in an offhand remark. Zoe shows varying amounts of cleavage throughout the film, including increasingly abundant views as her pregnancy continues. Stan jokingly tells Zoe he knows how to milk a goat, and then asks if that does anything for her (she jokes "not really"). Zoe and Stan briefly, passionately kiss. Zoe exercises in a sports bra and chats with Mona. There's talk that that maybe Stan is just looking to "get laid," with Mona telling Zoe she (Zoe) can't have sex with him (now that she's pregnant). The discussion then goes into increased blood flow in pregnant women, with Mona saying that's why they're "horny" all of the time. That relieves Zoe who says she thought it was just her, with Mona saying no, saying she could have an orgasm in a bar. She then repeats that Zoe can't have sex with Stan. We see Stan's buff torso as he rides a tractor and then as he chats with Zoe. Stan and Zoe passionately kiss and he lifts her up on a table, getting between her legs (both clothed, although he removes her outer top). She says they have to take it slow and that they can't have sex, but ends up having an audible orgasm from the contact. He then asks, "Did you just..?" and they kiss more. We next see them, out of breath, lying side by side (his shirt open and pants unbuttoned, while she's clothed), with him saying it was amazing and then asks if that was three or four times (orgasms) for her. After suddenly vomiting, she states she's pregnant, with him replying it doesn't happen that fast (thinking she's referring to them having just had sex). He then says they just made love and now she tells him she's pregnant by a stranger. We see Zoe in bed alone, in a top and panties. We see shirtless Stan spooning with Zoe in bed, presumably after sex. After examining Zoe's vagina, we see blood on Dr. Harris' gloved hand (which he says is normal). He then states he's going to put an ultrasound probe up her vagina and keeps repeating "vagina" to get Stan used to hearing that. Seeing Stan looking at a playground of kids, with his hands in his pants pockets, a man confronts him, calls him a pervert, and tells him to remove his hands (this stops when Stan announces that Zoe is pregnant with twins). Stan's friend complains about lack of sleep, free time, and sex with his wife after they had kids. He also talks about buck-naked days at his house (presumably referring to the kids, and variations of this are repeated during the outtakes). There are several mentions of the frozen sperm used to inseminate Zoe. Zoe and Stan make out in a cab. We see Zoe in her bra while getting dressed. Later, and after returning home following her tight dress splitting in the back, Stan playfully tears open the rest of her dress. He then brushes his teeth, but upon returning to the bedroom finds her fast asleep. Stan complains to his friend about Zoe using a large pregnancy pillow. The man agrees, saying he tried to make a move on his wife, but the pillow got in the way. Stan complains that he and Zoe used to have sex every day, followed by "screw the pillow." The man says Stan might have to do that, adding that he did once. Zoe shops for baby bottles, with comments about the nipples on them and Zoe complaining that they're nothing like her own nipples. The leader of the single mom support group just so happens to be there and states "Breast is best" while tapping her own clothed chest. After Zoe comments on hormonal changes in the third trimester, Stan says she's hard to read and then asks if she's coming on to him. She climbs on top of him and they kiss, but he tells her not tonight and she's fine with that as she goes back to her side of the bed. After throwing her pregnancy pillow out the window (which was getting in the way of them being intimate), Stan removes his shirt and climbs on top of her and they kiss (the scene ends there). We briefly see a distant rear view of Zoe very pregnant in a thong. She scurries away when Stan comes home, and then comments that all of her added weight has gone to her "ass." She then says that her old one was like her current one "but way hotter." Later, and in bed, she shows him an underwater, close-up photo of her butt in a revealing one-piece bathing suit from years ago, taken by her boyfriend at that time. We see the breast-feeding woman from above again, but this time with more of a view of her breast as she feeds her three-year-old. Various people, including Zoe and a reluctant Stan, go to see one of the women from the single mom support group give birth. They find her in an inflatable swimming pool inside the house, wearing a shirt but nothing down below (although only her bare belly is seen). Her legs are spread and Zoe is shocked by the view, with the group leader commenting on how amazing it is that one's body can open up that much. The woman then asks for a mirror so she can see while she's on her hands and knees. Someone comments on all of the hair, with another saying that's not from the baby's head as we briefly see the angled mirror reflection that shows the woman's pubic hair underwater. During the outtakes, we see more views of the pregnant woman's bare belly and spread legs (no genitalia seen) in the swimming pool during delivery. During the outtakes, the leader of the single mom support group mentions something about if her mom were there she would have let her feed from her teat. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES In discussing their pasts, Zoe states her parents died when she was young. About his ex-wife, Stan states that she didn't know how to not sleep with everyone at the inn they opened and tried to run, and then uses the term "whore" in an offhand remark. Zoe looks at an old photo of her mom, and states that she (Zoe) was just 8-years-old when her mom died. She then comments on her being in a coma for two years and her father then leaving them. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Artificial insemination. Single moms. Zoe being gun-shy about relationships based on her dad leaving her sick mom in the past. Losing one's parents at a young age. Pregnancy and childbirth. VIOLENCE In the cartoon credits, several men trip and fall down subway steps following Zoe. Distracted by Stan's buff torso, Zoe crashes her car (we don't see the impact, but do see the damage, but she's unhurt). Stan faints and hits the floor hard (impact not seen) upon hearing that Zoe is pregnant with twins. Zoe faints and lands in an inflatable baby pool (impact not seen). While in a conga line, Clive and those behind him slip backwards and fall. Reviewed April 20, 2010 / Posted April 23, 2010

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

All Rights Reserved,
©1996-2016 Screen It, Inc.