Zoe who is played by Jennifer Lopez is strong-minded and single woman living in New York City. Zoe’s systematic life plan of falling in love, getting married and having children is proving difficult than planned as she simply cannot find Mr Right. So Zoe decides to skips the first two steps and makes a decision to go it alone and has a donor-insemination.
Now, cupid’s timing could not get worse, as the same day she goes through with the procedure; wait for it, she jumps in the cab at the same time as the handsome goat cheese maker guy, Stan who is played by Alex O’Loughlin.
So, It Is Your Ordinary Chick Flick, Right?
Well, yes it is, except Zoe gets pregnant before she meets Mr Right (that’s the twist folks). Is it any good you ask...if you like cliché chick flicks yes, you might like it. They both fall in love and Zoe fails to tell Stan she’s pregnant and when he finds out he eventually decides to stay and raise the children (she finds out she’s going to have twins) with her.
For the duration of this film, Zoe and Stan do experience the complexity of being in a relationship that has some extra emotional strains, which is, quite frankly exhausting to watch. Now, it is a romcom, so naturally I assumed there would be some moments of comical relief that would rescue this film from its predictable and tiresome plot - just don’t hold your breath.
The mediocre comedy could not rescue this plot or in fact, the actors. If anything, it made it worst. The ineffective jokes and gestures here and there were awful and expected.
Conclusion
Kate Angelo’s choice to write this formulaic romcom that lacked imagination and sheer flair was a sign of catastrophe. Jennifer Lopez who starred in Maid in Manhattan and The Wedding Planner seems to have been caught in a tedious web of similar romcoms plots, which is not doing her any favours as an ‘actress’ (but then again, it’s J.Lo).
The so-called ‘twist’ of the plot which is meant to provide the audience with something new, is a mere distraction from the terrible casting and badly written script. The Australian-born actor Alex O’Loughlin was too, plain and therefore lacked charisma.
The Back-Up Plan is J.Lo’s comeback on the big screen after four years and unfortunately it was an unsatisfactory performance; let’s just hope that J.Lo too, has a back-up plan for her next role.
The Back-Up Plan gets a 1 star out of 5.
Directed By: Alan Poul
Written by: Kate Angelo
Certification: PG 13
Production Companies: CBS Films & Escape Artists
