What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)

22% of critics liked it
(119 reviews)
54% of users liked it
(40,292 ratings)

Over the moon about starting a family, TV fitness guru Jules and dance show star Evan find that their high-octane celebrity lives don't stand a chance against the surprise demands of pregnancy. Baby-crazy author and advocate Wendy gets a taste of her own militant mommy advice when pregnancy hormones… More Over the moon about starting a family, TV fitness guru Jules and dance show star Evan find that their high-octane celebrity lives don't stand a chance against the surprise demands of pregnancy. Baby-crazy author and advocate Wendy gets a taste of her own militant mommy advice when pregnancy hormones ravage her body; while Wendy's husband, Gary, struggles not to be outdone by his competitive alpha-Dad, who's expecting twins with his much younger trophy wife, Skyler. Photographer Holly is prepared to travel the globe to adopt a child, but her husband Alex isn't so sure, and tries to quiet his panic by attending a "dudes" support group, where new fathers get to tell it like it really is. And rival food truck chefs Rosie and Marco's surprise hook-up results in an unexpected quandary: what to do when your first child comes before your first date? -- (C) Lionsgate

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Kirk Jones
Written By: Shauna Cross, Heather Hach, Heidi Murkoff
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy

In Theaters: May 18, 2012 Wide
Studio: Lionsgate Films

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Technically the genre isn't beneath contempt. But this movie is.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Babies are cute and expectant parents often aren't. That kind of sums up What to Expect When You're Expecting.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
Director Kirk Jones and screenwriters Shauna Cross and Heather Hach consistently fall back on corny music and slow-motion to try to get laughs. Very little of this movie feels risky, or even frisky.
William Goss, Film.com
Patently contrived to deliver the safer side of pregnancy-related humor over the course of five tidily intersecting plot lines.
Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail
It's a sitcom-y ensemble film (complete with product placement) that feels like you're flipping around the TV dial.
Tom Long, Detroit News
"What to Expect" rolls out this shocking revelation: Having kids is a messy and complicated process.
Matt Neal, The Standard
Like childbirth, (it's) very messy and painful at times. But like raising children, there will be a few tears and a few laughs and somehow you'll get through it.
Simon Foster, Screen-Space
The young Hollywood executives of today were weaned on television's last golden era - the heady days of 'Friends' and 'Ally McBeal' and 'Seinfeld' - and the films now being greenlit seem to come with a mandate for a small-screen mindset and aesthetic.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
Messy? Complicated? Nah. Turns out all you should expect when you're expecting is to live in the midst of a nine-month sitcom.
Simon Miraudo, Quickflix
The eggs are there; someone just forgot to fertilise them.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
This terrible comedy is a return to the cycle of late 1980s obscoms, movies packed with obstetric detail celebrating the wonders of parenthood.
Shaun Munro, What Culture
The cast gives it their all, but this tepid dramedy lacks fervour and originality.
Jason Best, Movie Talk
As rom-coms go, this one is definitely stillborn.
Blake Howard, 2UE That Movie Show
Abort.
James O'Brien, Daily Mail [UK]
All the leads are ultimately betrayed by a script almost as silly as the idea of building a romcom around a pregnancy guide.
Alex Zane, Sun Online
What to expect? Not a lot.
Mark Adams, Daily Mirror [UK]
In the end there is enough pregnancy humour to give audiences a good old belly laugh.
Mike McCahill, Guardian [UK]
Someday Hollywood will think of women as more than fallopian tubes in heels; until then, we're stuck with this kind of project.
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
On the whole, I'd rather give birth.
Antonia Quirke, Financial Times
Mutual loathing and eye-rolling sustain - horribly - many of the couples involved.

Read all 25 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

E.J. B

So I looked around the semi-crowded theatre halfway through What to Expect When You're Expecting. It was Tuesday night in the beaches, so cheap movie day!!!! As I looked around, I counted how many guys were dragged into this movie by their significant other, and from this number,… More
So I looked around the semi-crowded theatre halfway through What to Expect When You're Expecting. It was Tuesday night in the beaches, so cheap movie day!!!! As I looked around, I counted how many guys were dragged into this movie by their significant other, and from this number, I began to think about how many of these guys are in that stage of their relationship where talk of having babies has become one of the more front and centre topics of discussion. Once the credits rolled, I knew that even if those guys weren't having this discussion before, they damn sure will be now on the drive home. I can't imagine too many teens running to the multiplexes to see this one. This is solely for the ladies in their late twenties to early forties who are either thinking of becoming mothers or already are ones and are using this movie as a way of looking back on their pregnancy days to laugh about them. So clearly I was not the target audience here, and I don't think I have the authority to accurately critique such a film. But here I go anyway. What to Expect When You're Expecting seems to be a product from all the pregnancy books and manuals out there (it's based on one such book). The writers and makeup artists have definitely done their research, not only in accurately depicting the pregnancy bulge, the raging hormones, and the desire for both women and men to want children, but they've created a whole ensemble cast of characters that are all going through different kinds of personal trials. We have the teens who accidentally get pregnant, we have the groups of fathers who are charged with taking care of the kids, we have the infertile 30 something who is looking to adopt, and we have different women experiencing different kinds of pregnancy pains. Within all that, we are supposed to laugh at the jokes, the sometimes witty lines, ooo and aww at the cute moments, and then the babies are born. Lesson to learn: pregnancy is hell but it's all worth it once the baby is born. This movie didn't offend me. It wasn't stupid, and some of the jokes were actually quite funny. But I think the over-saturation of characters and the "aw gush" ending still couldn't make me connect with it. Maybe it's because this movie wasn't made for me. But then I remember how much I loved Juno and Knocked Up and how much more satisfying those movies were....

Cast

            Cameron Diaz as Jules

            Jennifer Lopez as Holly

            Elizabeth Banks as Wendy

            Anna Kendrick as Rosie

            Chace Crawford as Marco

            Brooklyn Decker as Skyler

            Ben Falcone as Gary

            Dennis Quaid as Ramsey

            Matthew J. Morrison as Evan

            Chris Rock as Vic

            Rodrigo Santoro as Alex

            Joe Manganiello as Davis

            Rob Huebel as Gabe

            Tom Lennon as Craig

            Amir Talai as Patel

            Rebel Wilson as Janice

            Wendi McLendon-Covey as Kara

            Kim Fields as Social Worker

            Jesse Burch as Hutch Davidson

            Mimi Gianopulos as Molly

            Genesis Rodriguez  as Courtney

            Tom Clark as Lose It & Weep Host

            Taylor Kowalski as J.J.

            Aerli Austen as Female Co-Worker

            Katie Kneeland as Hotel Doctor

            Bree Dawn Shannon as Holly's Client

            Kelley Hinman as Ramsey's Friend

            Jon Stafford as Ramsey's Friend

            Rhoda Griffis as Convention Organizer

            Elizabeth Becka as Agency Official

            Catherine Dyer as Adoption Mom

            Brian Bascle as Adoption Dad

            Dr. Sharon Morris May as Jules' Obstetrician

            Eric Mendenhall as Wendy's Doctor

            Maria Howell as Jules' Doctor

            Sharon Gee as Skyler's Doctor

            Scott Poythress as Anesthesiologist

            Nico Ward as Jules' Nurse

            Cynthia Evans as Wendy's Nurse

            Pamela Smith as Skyler's Nurse

            Jimi Kocina as Lab Tech

            Jasmine Kaur as Nurse

            Valerie Payton as Hospital Receptionist

            Andrew Arthur Medlin as Magazine Editor

            Andrew Laws as Photographer

            Richard Mitchell as Steakhouse Waiter

            Jessie Ward as Cute Girl

            Hannah Kasulka as Pretty Girl

            Wilbur Fitzgerald as Elderly Swimmer

            Todd J. Smith as Interpreter

            Africa Miranda as Adina

            Tegga Lendado as Ethiopian Priest

            Matthew Lintz as Disruptive Kid

            Emily Westergreen as Young Pregnant Wife

            Reginald Womack as Jordan

            Resean Womack as Jordan

            David Thwaites as Ad Guy

            Veronica Yung as Food Truck Girl

            Steve Coulter as Rosie's Doctor

            Cornelia Brianna Moreland as Vic's Wife

            Heena Sabnani as Patel's Wife

            Charles David McDonald as A1A Band Member

            Richard Meeder, Jr. as A1A Band Member

            Nico Gutierrez as A1A Band Member

            William Wayne Viar as A1A Band Member

            Anthony J. Carrozza as A1A Band Member

            Lewis Jeffrey Pike as A1A Band Member

            Kristy Foggitt as A1A Band Dancer

            Becky Simmons as A1A Band Dancer

            Macsen Lintz as Young Boy

            Adam Baaklini as BBQ Waiter

            Chelsea Cardwell as BBQ Waitress

            Catherine Barrow as BBQ Waitress

            Tricia Miranda as Female Dance Partner

            Ryan DiLello as Male Dance Partner

            Bart Hansard as Marco's Boss

            Dougie Jones as Teenager at Food Truck

            Zenia Boyd as Female Contestant

            Michael H. Cole as Male Contestant

            Megan Hayes as Convention Attendee

            Julie Ivey as Convention Attendee

            Dwyane Wade as Himself

            Whitney Port as Herself

            Megan Mullally as Herself

            Cheryl Cole as Herself

            Tyce Diorio as Himself

            Taboo as Himself
See full cast