Expect The Expected (Film Review: What To Expect When You're Expecting)

I don't know if I am liking this trend of movies based on self-help books, but I suspect there will be more. "Think Like A Man" was a surprise box-office success, and now we get "What To Expect When You Are Expecting," which, I know is a must-read for when you are pregnant.  This is a smorgasbord movie, made up of five story lines interwoven with each other - all revolving couples who are expecting. Cameron Diaz plays a fitness trainer who gets pregnant while on a Dancing With The Stars type show (by her partner, played by Matthew Morrison)  Elizabeth is a book-store owner who has a difficult pregnancy, as her father-in-law declares that his wife is pregnant as well. And Jennifer Lopez goes through an ordeal of an adoption process of a baby from Ethiopia, and a young couple (Anna Kendrick and Chase Crawford) gets pregnant after a one-night stand. It's all nice and straightforward, and Elizabeth Banks shines most as a neurotic pregnant woman. I have an irrational dislike for Diaz and I surprisingly am not too upset with her here. And of course, Jennifer Lopez has a physical-pregnancy-free story - the diva cannot be photographed fat, after all. It's been only a couple of hours since I saw the movie, and I don't much remember a lot from it. I laughed at all the right places, but i suspect this movie will resonate more with people who have gone through similar situations. I just am not this movie's target market, and that's fine. I wish it well, and actually welcome it from as counter programming from all the comic book action packed Summer Blockbusters.