Themes: Expecting a Baby, Single Parents, Parenthood
Main Cast: Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson, Michael Imperioli, Method Man, John Amos
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Run Time: 86 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Three lazy pals find they're facing fatherhood simultaneously in this light-hearted comedy co-written by star Eddie Griffin. Lonnie (Griffin), G. (Anthony Anderson), and Dominick (Michael Imperioli) live stress-free lives with Lonnie's trash-talking Uncle Virgil (John Amos). But when all three young men's girlfriends get knocked up at the same time, they're forced to take a long, hard look at their lifestyles. For G., who works at the family grocery store of his girlfriend Xi Xi (Bai Ling), that means saying no to criminal temptation and staying on the straight and narrow; for Dominick, it means taking time out from his busy career as a record producer and coming to terms with surprise revelations from his baby's momma; and for Lonnie, it means recognizing ghetto-fabulous girlfriend Rolonda (Paula Jai Parker) as the gold-digger she is and finding a new lady love without sacrificing his individuality. Directed by Cheryl Dunye, whose previous features were low-budget indies, My Baby's Daddy also stars rapper Method Man as imposing ex-con No Good. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review
Though its hit-or-miss humor provokes few belly laughs, this surprisingly sentimental screwball comedy proves likable enough as a warm fable about fatherhood. The script, co-written by star Eddie Griffin, is entirely schematic in its presentation of parenthood as a life-changing event for its layabout protagonists. But the ensemble approach, varied characters and elaborate plot allow the movie to say a lot more about growing up than one might expect from what's ostensibly a crass urban comedy. Cheryl Dunye, who previously helmed the low-budget indies The Watermelon Woman and Stranger Inside, brings a light touch to the director's chair. She deftly juggles storylines and disparate tones without allowing the pace to lag. Though the characters are drawn too broadly to connect much on an intellectual level, the mostly competent, occasionally fine cast attacks the material with conviction. John Amos gets the best lines (and laughs) as curmudgeon Uncle Virgil, but he's only one among many performers who make My Baby's Daddy hard to love yet similarly hard to dislike. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Each have their own unique set of problems; Lonnie's girlfriend is more interested in partying than being a mother; Dominic discovers that his girlfriend has fallen in love with her midwife; while G, an aspiring boxer, is unable to fully commit to his girlfriend.
Throughout the movie, all three men are determined to continue their normal way of living and be a father at the same time. But after they momentarily lose their kids during a party they threw, they realize how much their kids depend on them, and gradually become responsible fathers. Lonnie falls in love with a woman from a Mommy and Me class named Brandy. Dominic's ex-girlfriend reveals she's a lesbian and feels he is too involved in his career to ever be a father. G's cousin No Good (Method Man) robs a store and his girlfriend feels he was in on it and takes her son away from him. After all three are given a talking to by Lonnie's uncle, they realize how much they love their kids and what they have to do. Lonnie storms to his ex-girlfriend's house and takes his son with him, while criticizing her for having a baby to get child support payments, and knocks out her cousin "Big Swoll". Dominic goes to his ex-girlfriend and tells her how much he loves his daughter and how he needs to be a part of her life. G's girlfriend's father tells him a story of being in the Triads before he had his daughter and realized how much his family meant to him, leading to G proposing to his girlfriend. At the end of the movie it is revealed that Lonnie and Brandy are married and having a baby of their own; Dominic started a children's music album; and G and his father-in-law open a martial arts/boxing studio called The Mo Fo Dojo. No Good, after learning of organic foods, goes on to become a successful food show personality called The Organic Gangster.
