Movie review: 'The Back-Up Plan'

It is a shame since Jennifer Lopez has an appealing sweetness on screen that seems to have been helped by marriage & motherhood. But despite a lot of practice in films such as "The Wedding Planner" & "Maid in Manhattan," they still has not figured out how to connect that sweetness to someone around her, even when it is the hunky Alex O'Loughlin, who serves as fella material here.

Pregnancy is going to be the sizable bump in the road of their relationship; we'll get to the bumps in the film a bit later. Zoe (Lopez) has given up on finding "the one" to start a relatives with but not on having a child, hence the backup plan. In a miracle of bad timing, minutes after insemination, Zoe & a super hot single stranger grab the same cab simultaneously. But where sparks should start flying along with their "who-got-there-first" argument, the taxi turns out to be two of plenty of no-smoking zones in this film.

Lopez probably doesn't need a backup plan, what with the recording career, Marc Anthony, the cosmetics business & the clothing line. So there is no real worry that the whole acting thing is not panning out, which her new romantic comedy "The Back-Up Plan" only reinforces.

No matter how plenty of times director Alan Poul tries lighting the fire, nothing ignites. Though "Back-Up" is his feature film debut, Poul is far from a novice, with impressive writing & directing credits, mostly of the HBO persuasion with "Six Feet Under" the most significant. In other words, Poul should have been able to deliver this child.

At least screenwriter Kate Angelo, out of the TV trenches of "Will & Grace," has given the film a contemporary concept. With so plenty of turkey-baster children these days, "Back-Up" asks how does a guy cope when they learns the girl he is falling for has a bun or four in the oven?

If anything, the script works overtime to make sure the film feels modern. O'Loughlin's Stan has turned the relatives farm organic & sells designer cheeses at a NYC farmer's market. Meanwhile, Zoe has left the corporate fast track to take over the pet shop that sold her a puppy-mill pooch with problems. She is made it politically correct & au courant, complete with "The Dog Whisperer's" Cesar Millan book signings.