Fadima Ceesay
May 23, 2023There was no shortage of surrogates willing to assist the nice couple of Brad and Monica, who want to have a baby. Monica's wayward sister Jen offers, but the honor of carrying and delivering the baby is given to Lily Mahoney, who works as a temp at Brad's office. Eventually, a theme that emerges is that it is not a good idea to allow the surrogate to become the nanny of your new baby.
The most interesting character in the film was Jen, who had a hair-trigger temper and seemed to mess up every menial task she was assigned. Growing up, she was always overshadowed by her sister Monica, who is now a successful attorney. The question that unfolds is how far will Jen go in disrupting the lives of Brad, Monica, and their new baby Olivia?
The best performance in the film was that of Sarah Fisher as little Lily Mahoney, the surrogate. There was a sweetness about Lily singing a lullaby to baby Olivia. The actress was successful in developing a character with depth and whose secrets were carefully guarded.
The heart of the film was in the ebb and flow of the relationship of the two sisters. Monica was especially patient with her insecure sister. But, in the clutch, Jen rose to the occasion to demonstrate the eternal bonding of the sisters and notion of "family." The filmmakers also merit an extra star for locating and casting the most well-behaved and adorable baby on the planet and for adding a touch of cinematic history in the runaway baby carriage as an homage to Eisenstein's classic film "Potemkin."
