Flashpoint
2000
Rated R
New to video
He gets cold feet. She gets pregnant. He doesn't find out until the Labor Pains begin. Stars Rob Morrow ('Northern Exposure') and Kyra Sedgwick (Phenomenon)
Ryan Keene (Rob Morrow) and Sarah Raymond (Kyra Sedgwick) first meet when he accidently enters the ladies room. He's embarrassed. She's charmed. They start dating and fall in love, but when she asks him to move in, he bails. She's heartbroken...and pregnant. Turns out they spent one mindlessly (and by this I mean truly brainless), passionate night on the beach where Sarah accidently substituted a marshmallow for a contraceptive sponge. Rather than admit her mortifying mistake to her ex, she carries the baby to term, intending to put it up for adoption. Her water breaks. Chaos ensues. Sarah and her best friend, Lulu, (Lela Rochon) arrive at the hospital. That's when the real story begins. Instead of calling the adoption agency Sarah asked her to, Lulu calls the clueless father-to-be and Sarah's equally in-the-dark parents, Esther (Mary Tyler Moore) and David (Robert Klein). Before long they all converge on the hospital where both Sarah and Ryan most deal with their feelings, fears, mistakes and miseries--all without an epidural!
I was so optimistic about this film. Cute premise, excellent cast, quirky, offbeat approach. My hopes were completely squashed about the time Sarah stripped off her frumpy, hospital frock to strike a pose and toss her hair before Ryan in a racy red, spaghetti-strapped, "dig me" dress that hugs her bulbous stomach, while a lacy, black bra plays peek-a-boo under the low- cut neckline. The absurd gets asinine when you realize she's wearing matching panties and she's going to walk the hospital corridors in this outfit, complete with shimmery shawl thrown over her shoulders. Excuuuuuuse me?! I can suspend my beliefs for most any film. A magical cook in Woman on Top, not a problem. Catsitting a leopard in Bringing Up Baby. Why not? A bevy of brides chasing down The Bachelor. Sure enough. I could even laugh off Sarah's 'mallow method of birth control, but a woman in labor wearing a slinky scarlet dress who doesn't even have an IV poked into her...come on! Where's the indignity, the prodding, the dressing gown draft? The real agony of Labor Pains is how completely unrealistic it is.
Add to this a daddy-in-waiting who ends up contemplating his lousy life while sitting around in the morgue with his brother, another enceinte mother who belts out opera during her contractions, and a British maternity nurse taking a snoring snooze on top of a desk and you find the movie is more laughable, than humorous. 'Frasier' inspired sub-titles and When Harry Met Sally camera direct monologues further cheapen this movie that tries to be too many things at once. It's a shame too. Rob Morrow could make an outstanding leading man with the right romantic comedy script (I love his darling grin and the laugh crinkles around his eyes) , Lela Rochon shows great comic potential and Mary Tyler Moore who manages to shine as the garish, obnoxious, Esther, despite the sad script deserves better. Unfortunately, Labor Pains delivers little in the way of romance and reality, let alone laughs so I give it two hearts.
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