Film Clip: What to Expect When You’re Expecting

Six different couples cope with impending parenthood—five through pregnancy and one by adoption—in different ways. Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel’s self-help bestseller serves as the pretext for an all-star rom-com along the lines of Valentine’s Day or New Year’s Eve. Shauna Cross and Heather Hach’s script is, on balance, a parade of humdrum banalities, with matching direction by Kirk Jones, but there are a handful of good lines scattered here and there (though none come to mind even a few minutes after leaving the theater), and the ensemble cast (Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Chris Rock, Dennis Quaid, etc.) delivers the goods in fits and starts. The washed-out cinematography by Xavier Pérez Grobet is another drawback, giving the movie the look of cheap lo-def video.