The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Adapted from the bestselling self-help book – Hollywood has obviously
ran out of proper novels to adapt – What
To Expect isn’t as terrible as you’d think it’d be. The parallel storylines
are handled pretty well and the cast, which is made up of around half of
Hollywood, doesn’t feel like a blatant cash grab a la New Year’s Eve for example. Having said that it’s only mildly
entertaining and that has less to do with the film and more to do with its
cast’s likeability.

The film portrays every kind of expectant mother possible. There’s the
kind who breezes about in six inch heels while carrying twins (Decker) and her
polar opposite, the kind whose bodily functions have gone completely haywire
(Banks). There’s the career woman who won’t admit that pregnancy comes with its
limitations (Diaz), another who suffers a miscarriage (Kendrick) and one who
patiently goes through a nerve-wracking adoption process (Lopez).

The film opens with a hilarious, cameo-filled, Dancing with the Stars type sequence. Diaz and Morrison, who plays
her partner, compete for the title in kitschy costumes and ridiculous dance
moves for a panel composed of Cheryl Cole, one of the guys from the Black Eyed
Peas and some choreographer guy who seems vaguely familiar from one of those
dancing shows. It firmly positions the film as one that doesn’t take itself
very seriously and sets the tone for a promising, light-hearted film. While the
dancing scene is one of the film’s biggest gags, it does have a decent
sprinkling of laughs throughout the rest of it which the cast is more than
adept at delivering. However, they’re not nearly enough to keep the film afloat
and the film coasts along more on the charms of its stars than anything else.

The actors are fine, the storylines are easy to keep track of and are
juggled well. However, as is generally the problem with star-studded films, not
much happens in each arc. It’s basically a film showcasing a bunch of
stereotypes. The subtle ways in which the storylines overlap though, are done
perfectly; they’re simple enough to keep the film straightforward but clever
enough to tie the characters together. 

The film isn’t wholly centred on women though. The bulk of the film’s
male presence comes in the form of a ‘Dude Group’ in which a bunch of guys and
their infants hang out in the park. For the most part, they don’t add much to
the film; they just prepare Lopez’s partner for the impending arrival of his
baby by talking about all the times they messed up with their kids and how
parenting sucks the life out of you. However, by the time we get to the
requisite ‘I may complain about it but I wouldn’t trade being a father for the
world’ tirade, you just don’t believe it, not least because Chris Rock delivers
it with bugging eyes and an expression that says ‘don’t believe a word I say.’

What to Expect
presents a very Hollywood version of pregnancy and is, as a result, it’s not at
all memorable – except for possibly Kendrick’s arc. However, one thing does
stand out; strangely enough for a film about the diversity of pregnancy,
there’s not one conversation about abortion.