THE BACK-UP PLAN Movie Review. “Sir, please spare me your SPERM?”

PRESS PREVIEW

Excuse me …..

Are you in a flippant mood now and wanna take a dig at something?

Then let’s check out this romantic comedy called THE BACK-UP PLAN.

It stars the ever effervescent JENNIFER LOPEZ.

An illustrative anecdote of the plot?

Nothing sugary along the fine line of MARY POPPINS’ cheesy “just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down”.

This one is rather, a naughty sexist poke at “Excuse me, Sir, can you spare me your sperm?”

This is the BACK-UP PLAN, for starters.

We should move next to the MAIN course.

THE BACK-UP PLAN boldly assures us that beauty is not everything …. (gasp)

and that NOT all vivacious and voluptuous women are guaranteed a heavenly ticket to conjugal bliss.

As in the case of ZOE (JENNIFER LOPEZ), a corporate woman turns pet shop owner.

She probably has enjoyed countless dates and a few relationships, yet true love is eluding her.

She becomes a desperado.

Who can really blame her?

When she realizes that her biological clock is ticking away, she panics, does a “Johnny-come-lately stance” and decides on her own back-up plan of being a single mother, by having her own baby.

She does some soul searching and accepts artificial insemination as a viable solution, and goes to the fertility clinic for her “jab”.

But Cupid intervenes and springs on her a last-minute surprise.

On that fateful day, upon completing her insemination process, she bumps into STAN (ALEX O’LOUGHLIN) the beau-of-her-dream in a taxi, and fights with him over “whoever gets into the taxi first”.

It is this chance encounter that love beckons under the most ridiculous circumstance.

STAN is a sexy himbo (male term for bimbo) – an organic goat’s cheese maker at that, who aspires to open a gourmet shop.

He’s smitten by ZOE’s sex-in-the-city persona and decides to woo her.

Likewise, ZOE drools over his “come-touch-me-here” six pack abs and longs to get into his pants.

So 1 + 1 = 2 horny animals.

Nurturing this new found love-cum-sexual relationship is baffling for ZOE who tries to conceal her early signs of pregnancy from STAN, thereby resulting in a comedy of errors.

After the fleeting period of excitement knowing that she is going to be a mother, she now has to face the throes of pregnancy blues alone.

Her best friend sharply reminds her that a woman in her early stages of pregnancy may develop a withdrawal symptom such as an unusual craving for food and sex.

Gags aplenty in the form of love, food and sex are properly executed to provide the comedic banter and laugh out situations.

The Back-Up Plan can be an acceptable romantic romp in the park, that is, if you follow the roller coaster of love’s “now you see, now you don’t”.

It is said that JENNIFER LOPEZ hopes for a triumphant return to the big screen after giving birth to twins.

Her last feature EL CANTANTE tanked dismally at the box office.

THE BACK-UP PLAN is a warm, glossy holiday fable that has some surprising sweet notes.

Relish some tender, family-friendly moments with J.LO and ALEX O’LOUGHLIN, both giving mesmerizing performances.

All in all, THE BACK-UP PLAN is a fun-fun-fun romantic comedy dedicated to fans of J.LO.

And for that alone, it serves the very purpose.