The Babymakers
DIRECTOR: Jay Chandrasekhar
WRITERS: Peter Gaulke, Gerry Swallow
STARRING: Olivia Munn, Paul Schneider, Kevin Heffernan, Jay Chandrasekhar, Aisha Tyler, Nat Faxon
Millennium Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: August 3, 2012 (limited)

I love me some Broken Lizard. The comedy troupe behind movies like Super Troopers, Club Dread, Beerfest, and The Slammin’ Salmon have brought me hours of joy (often times of the drunken variety).

The Babymakers isn’t a Broken Lizard production, unfortunately, but it does relate to them. Jay Chandrasekhar (director and star of the aforementioned Super Troopers, Club Dread, and Beerfest, as well as director of multiple episodes of hit shows like Arrested Development, Chuck, Psych, and Community) directed the movie, and Kevin Heffernan (the much-quoted Farva from Troopers) star in supporting roles. Paired with lead stars Paul Schneider (who I loved in Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) and Olivia Munn (who I’m also a big fan of from her days on Attack of the Show), create a comedy I can get behind with a gigantic smile on my sometimes-hard-to-please face. With all of these components so appealing to me as a movie fan, The Babymakers was easily a must-see flick.

The movie follows a premise that’s ripe for good comedy: a couple, Tommy and Audrey (Schneider and Munn) decide it’s time to have their first child. After nine months of failed attempts, and a bout of denial, it becomes apparent that something is not right. The couple decide to get tested to make sure all their piping and complex parts are working properly, and, eventually they discover tht Tommy has a confused and drunkish low sperm count, preventing them from ever having children.

As it turns out, in order to afford the lovely engagement ring given to Audrey, Tommy donated sperm for twenty straight weeks for $85 per donation. Instead of adoption, Tommy decides that it’s his best option to get some of that donated product back. But when he asks, he finds out there’s only one batch left, and it has been claimed. As an absolute last resort, he decides to get his friends Zig-Zag (recent Oscar winner Nat Faxon) and Wade (Heffernan) together for a heist job of the sperm bank to get what he donated back. But in order to do so, they’ll need to bring in the assistance of a specialist, a slightly insane former member of the Indian mafia named Ron Jon (Chandrasekhar), who charges $5,000 for his services.

The Babymakers has plenty of raunchy adult-aimed comedy, definitely inspired by the style of Broken Lizard. This is something I appreciate, and the movie is indeed a comedy at heart, for sure. But it also has a nice little romantic story at its heart. Munn and Schneider have great chemistry, and that chemistry paired with their struggle to start a family—no matter what they have to do—(not to mention all the comedy) makes for a seriously entertaining movie when all fused together.

Something along the lines of Knocked Up (sans the whole knocked up part, anyway) meets Ocean’s Eleven, this is a movie I worried wouldn’t play out as satisfactorily as I had hoped, but, in the end, was very wrong about. Everything about it worked for me. It’s an excellent little indie comedy with heart and enough chuckles to warrant multiple viewings. There’s a lot of laughs, likable and sometimes goofy characters you can appreciate, and solid all-around story worth the 90 minutes of your time.

And, as we all know, a good comedy with romantic elements to it is the best kind of “date night” flick, so check it out with a significant other. Unless of course one of you is turned off by comedy of the mature variety…in which case you might want to steer clear. Tommy and Audrey’s house at night even has a Nightmare on Elm Street thing going on, which is…well, it’s a tad unsettling to be honest. But still fun!

Not many people are aware of the existence of The Babymakers yet—it doesn’t even hit theaters and video on demand services until August 3, 2012—but soon it’ll appear here and there and if you have the chance to see it, I most definitely suggest you pounce on the opportunity.

Trailer