Baby Boom (1987)

The life of super-yuppie J.C. is thrown into turmoil when she inherits a baby from a distant relative.

Director:

Charles Shyer

Writers:

Nancy Meyers, Charles Shyer

Stars:

Diane Keaton, Sam Shepard, Harold Ramis

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Diane Keaton	...	J.C. Wiatt
Sam Shepard	...	Dr. Jeff Cooper
Harold Ramis	...	Steven Buchner
Kristina Kennedy	...	Elizabeth Wiatt
Michelle Kennedy	...	Elizabeth Wiatt
Sam Wanamaker	...	Fritz Curtis
James Spader	...	Ken Arrenberg
Pat Hingle	...	Hughes Larrabee
Britt Leach	...	Verne Boone
Linda Ellerbee	...	Narrator
Kim Sebastian	...	Robin
Mary Gross	...	Charlotte Elkman
Patricia Estrin	...	Secretary
Elizabeth Bennett	...	Mrs. Atwood
Peter Elbling	...	Maitre D'

Storyline

J.C. Wiatt is a successful New York business woman known around town as the "tiger lady." She gets news of an inheritance from a relative from another country and off the bat she suspects it's money. Well it's not money, it's a baby girl. At first she doesn't accept until the lady that gives the baby to her has to catch her flight. J.C. is now stuck with an annoying baby girl. Her boyfriend doesn't like the idea of a baby living with them and he leaves her. J.C. has enough of it and takes her to meet a family ready to adopt her. She leaves but hears the baby cry while walking away and has to go back. The baby is too attached to her now and won't let her go. Later, her baby gets into mischief which causes her to get fired. Now, she sets her eyes on an old two story cottage in Vermont to get out of the New York life. When she arrives, the house needs more help than originally thought. She gets bored one snowy day and decides to make apple sauce. Her baby loves it and she decides to sell...

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Plot Keywords:

baby | veterinarian | vermont | career | executive | 

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Taglines:

An unexpected comedy.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

¿Quién llamó a la cigüeña?

Filming Locations:

444 S. Flower Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$26,712,476 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Meyers/Shyer

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

J.C. Wiatt (Diane Keaton) worked at Sloane Curtis Advertising which was the same firm in What Women Want, a film directed by the writer of Baby Boom, Nancy Meyers.

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Goofs

At the start of the film, a voiceover announces that J.C graduated the top of her class at Yale University. Later, J.C proclaims that she graduated the top of her class at Harvard University.

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Quotes

J.C. Wiatt: ... And your sister's name in Wiesbaden - in case of an emergency - and her prison record if *any.*
Helga Von Haupt: Excuse me??
J.C. Wiatt: Uh, oh, silly! I mean her *address* if you *have* it.

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Connections

Followed by Baby Boom (1988)

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Soundtracks

"Pennies from Heaven"
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Johnston
Played by The Moonlighters at the town dance

User Reviews

Keaton Brings It To Life

As anyone who has walked a mile or two knows, life is about choices and making decisions. And a lot of that has to do with realizing and setting priorities, because-- as a wise person once said-- You Can't Have It All. It's the lesson we all learn in our own way in our own time, according to our own personal situation, and director Charles Shyer examines one of them in his amiable comedy, `Baby Boom,' starring Diane Keaton.

J.C. Wiatt (Keaton) is a high-powered businesswoman on the fast track to success; she knows what she wants, has set her priorities, and a partnership in the firm for which she works is on the horizon. Her live-in significant other, Steven (Harold Ramis), is of a like mind-set, so they complement one another's life style perfectly. Marriage and/or having children is in neither of their respective vocabularies. then one day, J.C. `inherits' a baby, the child of a distant relative (a cousin she'd met only once) who has been killed in a tragic accident, and suddenly, J.C.'s world is turned upside down. Keeping the baby is out of the question, of course. Or is it? For J.C., it just may not be as simple as it seems, initially. She's been living life on her own terms, but now she is once again faced with choices, decisions and setting priorities. And along the way, she learns one of life's most important lessons: The fact that the lesson never ends.

There's some amusing moments and some insights to be gleaned from Shyer's film, and overall it's a pleasant, enjoyable experience. It is not, however, an entirely original idea, and Shyer laces it with stereotypes and cliches to boot. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though. If his characters are stereotypical, it's because they reflect a certain realism. J.C.'s boss, Fritz Curtis (Sam Wanamaker), for instance, typifies the image of a dedicated, hard-core businessman whom you get the feeling has to consult his day planner to work in an appointment with his own family. A stereotype? Perhaps. A reflection of reality? Definitely. The same can be said for Sam Shepard's character, Dr. Jeff Cooper, who personifies the general image of one in his situation. And again, it is a reflection of reality, stereotypical though it may be.

Even the cliches are handled in a way that makes them fresh enough to work within the context of the story, and be appreciated-- especially by those in the audience who may have experienced any of the situations presented here. When J.C. fumbles with a diaper and becomes frustrated with her own inexperience and incompetence with such things, it's cliche, but it also rings true-to-life. The important thing is, it's all well presented and actually pretty funny stuff, even if it isn't anything new.

Shyer wrote the screenplay, along with Nancy Meyers, and one angle they may have failed to cultivate fully has to do with Ken, the character played by James Spader. As J.C.'s in-house adversary, also striving to climb the corporate ladder, it may have been intrinsically more interesting had the character been a woman. The fact that Ken is a man, again, makes this particular situation fairly cliche; whereas a competitive conflict with another woman, considering J.C.'s predicament, would have expanded the avenues of possibility to a much greater extent, and certainly would have provided a more imaginative perspective.

The main reason the film works as well as it does, however, is because of the engaging performance by Diane Keaton. In J.C., she creates the antithesis of Annie Hall, but even at her most demanding there is a hint of vulnerability in J.C., a softness to that hard exterior edge she uses to shoulder her way through the business world. Keaton gives you a real sense of the conflict she's experiencing, and though it's lightheartedly rendered for the most part, you understand the underlying seriousness of it all. And the scene in which she vents her frustrations and bares her soul to Dr. Cooper is classic. Keaton's work is without question the highlight of the film, and what really brings it to life.

The supporting cast includes Pat Hingle (Hughes Larabee), Britt Leach (Verne), Kim Sebastian (Robin), Mary Gross) Charlotte, Patricia Estrin (Secretary)Victoria Jackson (Eve), Jane Elliot (Park Mom) and Linda Ellerbee (Narrator). An upbeat, entertaining film, `Baby Boom' may not be particularly memorable, but it does provide some laughs, and at the same time says something about the value of being given the opportunity to question the things we `think' we want. Kind of like saying `Never say never.' After all, who can say with any certainty where destiny may lead any of us? It's something a film like this may make you consider, inbetween the chuckles. It's the magic of the movies. I rate this one 7/10.