Customer Reviews

The Baby Formula

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a good comedy. The topic is quite interesting, and the way they tackle it is great. In this utopian scenario two women are being able to conceive a baby from each other thanks to science. Probably what I enjoyed the most was realizing that all families have their issues, no matter what the sexual orientation of their members is. It's very interesting to see how these two women deal with their pregnancies, their family relations, and their own relationship as life partners. And while you watch all this happening you get to laugh a lot.

I really enjoyed this film and have recommended it to others. It's very funny, with a great cast, and it also has a serious side. Well made Canadian film that is worth seeing!

REELING FILM FEST 2009 A closer look at 'Baby Formula'
by Tracy Baim
2009-11-04

Mockumentary-style filmmaking is among my favorites, but it has been over-indulged and not true to its form in some recent TV shows and movies. However, The Baby Formula is among my new favorite lesbian films.

I had a chance to meet the film's director, Alison Reid, and her partner, Cheryl Izen, at San Francisco's Frameline Film fest this summer, when Hannah Free premiered, and they were very generous in offering advice about their road so far with their first feature film. I had loved the trailer for Baby Formula but, as with a lot of lesbian films, I feared the trailer would not live up to my expectations. It does, and I highly recommend this comedy for your Reeling viewing pleasure.

The Baby Formula, made in Canada, follows the exploits of a lesbian couple who are on the sci-fi fertility cutting edge, in a perhaps not-too-distant future when lesbians can actually have each other's babies rather than need an outside donor. Holy hormones, Catwoman! Watch out as the tears and laughter begin.

Angela Vint ( Athena ) and Megan Fahlenbock ( Lilith ) are well-cast as these partners in parenting, and you have a real sense of their screen partnership. In real life, director Reid managed to shoot this film timed to the actor's real pregnancies. The water breaking? That was happening in real life the same day. I can't even imagine how difficult this shoestring budget was with the added dimension of real pregnancies.

The science in Baby Formula has the spark of reality because Reid did her research, speaking to scientists and bioethicists.

"Until recently, it has been impossible for gay couples to conceive of the idea of being able to combine their genetics and have their own biological children," Reid writes in her press kit. "That has always struck me as sad. When I read an article about some science that made it possible to create offspring from two female mice, it resonated with me, and inspired me to make this film."

The two leads are wonderful, but Jessica Booker is particularly great as Grandma Kate, who steals the scenes she is in. Each of the family members have their own troubles, and the actors are allowed to seem human, not stereotypes. And wait for the credits, because the scene with the stars singing Black Eyes Peas' "My Humps" is not to be missed.

I'm kind of surprised at the fervor of some of the reviews on here. I enjoyed the film and found it amusing in some parts and touching in others. I never laughed out loud or cried and I certainly don't think it's the best film I've seen all year. Still, though, it's a lot better than most of the gay/lesbian films out there, so that's a win. It's a perfectly enjoyable film with a good cast and a decent plot-line. The science referred to in the film *is* theoretically possible, although I would have liked to see a tad more scientific explanation in the film... they're almost throwing away the fact that it is theoretically possible by making the descriptions so vague that anyone who hasn't already read about this suspects it's fake.

Good film with a scientifically feasible experiment of a couple of lesbians having their stem cells transformed in spermatozoa and have their own genetical children. It touched both the ethical and human part of such an issue with realistic optimism. I liked the family members of both ladies in the couple. One of them reminded me so much of my mother. Nothing was spared. Lighted hearted to the end.

I saw the film at OUTFEST in Los Angeles. I really enjoyed it. Had no idea what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. it has it all. A feel good film. A lot of good Canadian humor and some tears... a great film for movie night with the girls, or family..It has something for everyone.. You will walk away thinking about how precious life is and walk away with a smile on your face feeling good...

A perfect example of fresh, creative, enjoyable independent cinema. I truly laughed and I truly cried. I highly recommend it.