Main Cast: Skeet Ulrich, Gary Oldman, Radha Mitchell, Mary Steenburgen, Gordon Tootoosis
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 112 minutes
Plot
A slack-jawed yokel discovers the joys of parenthood while trying to avoid the law in this gleefully tasteless comedy. Billy (Skeet Ulrich) and Buford (Gary Oldman) are two dim-witted rednecks who grew up together in an orphanage; as adults, the pair ended up in prison after reading other people's mail for a laugh was interpreted as mail theft by the authorities. Buford, who is marginally more intelligent than Billy, plans a jailbreak, and after escaping prison in a paddy wagon, the pair split up, with plans to reunite later. While en route to Utah, Billy accidentally causes an auto wreck that leaves behind only one survivor -- a baby, whom Billy is able to rescue. But Billy knows next to nothing about caring for a infant, and truck stop waitress Shauna Louise (Radha Mitchell) bravely offers to help show him the ropes, with her neighbor Estelle (Mary Steenburgen) volunteering to nurse, having given her own baby up for adoption a few days earlier. When Buford tracks Billy down, he sees the baby as a potential gold mine, imagining that some relative somewhere would be willing to pay a ransom for his return. However, Billy and Shauna Louise have grown attached to the child and they aren't willing to give him up. While Buford tries to formulate a Plan B, sleazy used-car salesman Norman (Ed O'Neill) arrives on the scene; he knows Billy and Shauna Louise didn't come by the baby honestly and is eager to use this knowledge to his advantage. Nobody's Baby was written and directed by David Seltzer, who previously dealt with troublesome children as the screenwriter for the horror hit The Omen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Producers Avi Lerner and Boaz Davidson put out some pretty painful dreck (witness Spiders, Crocodile 2, Octopus 2, the list goes on), but every once in a while they help finance a project that exceeds expectations (Forever Lulu heads this very short list). They're credited among the producers of Nobody's Baby, and they've helped deliver a film that all involved can be proud of. It's an over-the-top, unabashedly dark comedy that works on each level ambitious writer/director David Seltzer aims for, and while the storyline may resemble Raising Arizona, it's undeniable mean streak sets it worlds apart. Gary Oldman, who is also listed with the producers, is unrecognizable in greasy mutton chops and an oily comb-over, and his redneck accent makes you forget Oldman is English. It's wonderful to watch a terrific actor get lost in a role as he does here, and Skeet Ulrich gives him plenty of support in a performance that combines the eccentricities of Johnny Depp with the sinewy energy of Brad Pitt. Mary Steenburgen, whose character begins lactating through her shirt when she hears the baby cry, and Ed O'Neill as a backwater used car dealer, are welcome additions to the cast, so when Matthew Modine shows up two-thirds into it, it's icing on the cake. The laughs may be uncomfortable amid a background of domestic violence, attempted murder, illegal adoption and robbery, but Nobody's Baby dares to be different and succeeds. Adult audiences looking for something unpredictable will want to take this Baby home. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
