Cheryl Dunye - Filmography: Baby's Daddy, Reviews

My Baby's Daddy
By Phil Villarreal
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
3 January 2004

To top “Three Men and a Baby,” you need three men and three babies. And it helps if the “men” are so immature, they’re hardly distinguishable from the toddlers.

“My Baby’s Daddy,” which opened Friday, pulls off the feat with a silly-stupid romp about a trio of ill-prepared guys who find themselves single parents. It’s the kind of movie that makes you laugh out loud, feel dumb for cracking up at the imbecilic jokes, then relieved when you notice everyone next to you is laughing even louder than you.

Director Cheryl Dunye keeps the diaper and unorthodox child-rearing jokes flowing, and actors Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson and Michael Imperioli roll around in the muck like squeal-happy pigs in a pen, joyously absorbed in their element. When the cast is having this much fun, it’s almost impossible to resist being sucked into the good times.

Anderson plays G, a wannabe boxer. Along with uptight nebbish pal Lonnie (Griffin) and hip-hop label producer Dominic (Imperioli), the guys live in bachelor-pad squalor in South Philly.

Thanks to an only-in-a-dumb movie sequence of coincidences, the guys all end up as single fathers on the same day. And these babies’ daddies’ are a world in which Child Protective Services would fear to tread. To touch the tip of the stupidityberg, the boys don’t understand it’s not kosher to throw a kegger and let the kids crawl around on their own.

You don’t wanna laugh, but just try and keep a straight face while the babies slide gleefully through a laundry chute and chill out on a patio couch to get away from the noise. It’s near impossible not to at least chuckle, just as you can’t contain the giggles when G tries to make like Rocky by running up art museum stairs, but loses his breath halfway up.

It would have been easy for Dunye to ape “Three Men and a Baby” or “Mr. Mom,” and she does occasionally — how can you possibly avoid baby urination gags? — but most of the humor is fresh. “My Baby’s Daddy” bombards the audience with jokes without regard for good taste, intellectual merit or political correctness. There is potty humor and in-good-fun schoolyard-level stereotypes and racial jokes aimed at blacks, whites and Asians alike. Some may be offended, but more will laugh their heads off. It’s the “Barbershop” effect.

It’s inexcusable how Miramax showed so little confidence in a movie this funny by dumping it into theaters without screening it for critics. Combined with a shoddy marketing campaign, few will hear about this dirty little gem.
It seems to be everything the wily Griffin can do to keep a glum expression as he plays the anti-Griffin, an uptight nerd. The effervescent Anderson is the latest torchbearer in the line of chubby comics, and is fun to watch in any movie.

Because formula dictates, the boys go through an education process, and learn to become real men while taking care of babies. It’s not the message that will stick with you, though. The pain in your ribs for laughing almost nonstop for 90 minutes should last longer.





		Watch the Trailer: Yahoo! Movies Official Site: Miramax.com
	My Baby's Daddy By Phil Villarreal ARIZONA DAILY STAR 3 January 2004 To top “Three Men and a Baby,” you need three men and three babies. And it helps if the “men” are so immature, they’re hardly distinguishable from the toddlers. “My Baby’s Daddy,” which opened Friday, pulls off the feat with a silly-stupid romp about a trio of ill-prepared guys who find themselves single parents. It’s the kind of movie that makes you laugh out loud, feel dumb for cracking up at the imbecilic jokes, then relieved when you notice everyone next to you is laughing even louder than you. Director Cheryl Dunye keeps the diaper and unorthodox child-rearing jokes flowing, and actors Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson and Michael Imperioli roll around in the muck like squeal-happy pigs in a pen, joyously absorbed in their element. When the cast is having this much fun, it’s almost impossible to resist being sucked into the good times. Anderson plays G, a wannabe boxer. Along with uptight nebbish pal Lonnie (Griffin) and hip-hop label producer Dominic (Imperioli), the guys live in bachelor-pad squalor in South Philly. Thanks to an only-in-a-dumb movie sequence of coincidences, the guys all end up as single fathers on the same day. And these babies’ daddies’ are a world in which Child Protective Services would fear to tread. To touch the tip of the stupidityberg, the boys don’t understand it’s not kosher to throw a kegger and let the kids crawl around on their own. You don’t wanna laugh, but just try and keep a straight face while the babies slide gleefully through a laundry chute and chill out on a patio couch to get away from the noise. It’s near impossible not to at least chuckle, just as you can’t contain the giggles when G tries to make like Rocky by running up art museum stairs, but loses his breath halfway up. It would have been easy for Dunye to ape “Three Men and a Baby” or “Mr. Mom,” and she does occasionally — how can you possibly avoid baby urination gags? — but most of the humor is fresh. “My Baby’s Daddy” bombards the audience with jokes without regard for good taste, intellectual merit or political correctness. There is potty humor and in-good-fun schoolyard-level stereotypes and racial jokes aimed at blacks, whites and Asians alike. Some may be offended, but more will laugh their heads off. It’s the “Barbershop” effect. It’s inexcusable how Miramax showed so little confidence in a movie this funny by dumping it into theaters without screening it for critics. Combined with a shoddy marketing campaign, few will hear about this dirty little gem. It seems to be everything the wily Griffin can do to keep a glum expression as he plays the anti-Griffin, an uptight nerd. The effervescent Anderson is the latest torchbearer in the line of chubby comics, and is fun to watch in any movie. Because formula dictates, the boys go through an education process, and learn to become real men while taking care of babies. It’s not the message that will stick with you, though. The pain in your ribs for laughing almost nonstop for 90 minutes should last longer.
(From left to right) Michael Imperioli, Anthony Anderson and Eddie Griffin in Cheryl Dunye's "My Baby's Daddy." Photo ©2003 Miramax Films. All Rights Reserved.
"This movie was funnier than the Kings of Comedy! The actors in this film really did a spectacular job by making everyone laugh, and if you didn't laugh chances are you aren't in to culture comedy. The topics/ situations that were talked about are realistic in the african american society. If you don't 'feel me,' then that's okay. Chin-ups to the director." by gqsstyle Jan 14, 2004
"FUNNY WOW. This movie is FUNNY. Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson, and Michael Imperioli are great! This has to be one of the funniest movies I ever saw. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes to laugh." by Leigh Jan 9, 2004
"About 30 minutes into this movie I was ready to leave but as this dad comedy went on I dicovered that this movie had a really good message." by Valora Eastman Jan 10, 2004



		Who's Your Daddy? Three little babies force three big babies to grow up and act right in this broadly comic celebration of fatherhood. After an animated prologue establishing that South Philadelphia friends G (Anthony Anderson), Lonnie (stand-up comedian Eddie Griffin, who also cowrote the script) and Dom (Michael Imperioli) have been inseparable since childhood, we find the friends in their twenties, perpetually broke and living with Lonnie's short-tempered Uncle Virgil (John Amos). Nerdy Lonnie, who once dreamed of being an inventor, is holding down several menial jobs so he can support manipulative hoochie Rolanda (Paula Jai White), who learned the tricks of the trade from her hot mama, Peaches (Dee Freeman). Portly G thinks his future lies in the boxing ring, despite all evidence to the contrary — including the fact that his skinny little girlfriend, XiXi (Bai Ling), can knock him out with one punch. In the meantime, G works for XiXi's straitlaced father, who owns a local fast-food restaurant/convenience store. And Dom, who's pinned his hopes of music-business success on a white-boy rap duo, is having a fling with recording-studio manager Nia (Joanna Bacalso). All three women simultaneously find themselves pregnant, and the guys resolve vaguely to be better dads than their own, without having any idea what that might entail. The course of baby love does not run smooth, as the overage adolescents learn the facts of life about diapers, burping, the cost of baby food and the trouble that can ensue when unsupervised toddlers invade a bangin' house party. Matters are further complicated when Lonnie develops a crush on classy single mom Brandy (Marsha Thomason) at a "Mommy and Me" parenting class, Dom discovers that Nia is a lesbian and G's ne'er-do-well cousin Randall (Method Man) gets out of the penitentiary and promptly live ups to his nickname — No Good. The film's mix of sentiment, body-function humor and family values preachiness is relatively good-natured, obligatory kicked-in-the-'nads-by-a-little-kid scene notwithstanding. The gags include an evergreen lesson in why fledgling dads should stand to the side while diapering boy babies, while the jokes rely heavily on wacky Chinese names: XiXi's family includes Cha Ching and Sing Sing, Grandpa Bling Bling and, of course, Grandma Fung-Yu. by Maitland McDonagh TV Guide
				(From left to right) Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson and Michael Imperioli in Cheryl Dunye's "My Baby's Daddy." Photo Credit: Marni Grossman Photo ©2003 Miramax Films. All Rights Reserved.
				"This film was hilarious and had no faults that I could see. The humor is more cerebral than one might think. Your normal viewer with average intelligence will definitely not get many of the intricate, ingenious jokes. This film is unmatched by any other comedy that has been released this year. The interaction of the three fathers and their children is compelling and inspiring in its own way. I suggest this film for the whole family, particularly fathers who have annoying, pestering children. They will truly be able to relate. You may need to see this movie twice to truly appreciate the intricate plotlines and dynamic, clever humor." by Austin Millbarge Jan 9, 2004




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