Not Approved

The Back Up Plan

“The Back-up Plan” is a comedy that explores courtship, love, marriage and family “in reverse.”

After years of dating, Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) has decided waiting for the right one is taking too long. Determined to become a mother, she commits to a plan, makes an appointment and decides to go it alone. On the day of her artificial insemination, Zoe meets Stan (Alex O’Loughlin) – a man with real possibilities.

Trying to nurture a budding relationship and hide the early signs of pregnancy becomes a comedy of errors for Zoe and creates confusing signals for Stan. When Zoe nervously reveals the reason for her unpredictable behavior, Stan commits fully and says he’s in. Never before has love seen a courtship where a wild night of sex involves three in a bed – Stan, Zoe and the ever-present massive pregnancy pillow. Or, where “date night” consists of being the “focal point” at a near-stranger’s water birth which does for kiddie pools what “Jaws” did for swimming in the ocean. The real pregnancy test comes when both of them realize they really don’t know each other outside of hormonal chaos and birth preparations. With the nine month clock ticking, both begin to experience cold feet. Anyone can fall in love, get married and have a baby but doing it backwards in hyper-drive could be proof positive that they were made for each other.
15
Negative Rating
12345
SexLanguageViolenceDrugsNudityOther
0
Positive Rating
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FaithIntegrity

Dove Review

To list a few positives regarding this film, Jennifer Lopez accomplishes the job in portraying a young woman named Zoe who sincerely desires to be a mother. Zoe’s parents died long ago and her surviving relative is elderly and Zoe doesn’t want to be alone in the world. She chooses artificial insemination which is controversial for sure. The controversy heightens when she finally meets a man she falls for named Stan (Alex O’Loughlin), and right after the insemination takes place. When he learns she is pregnant, he admits to needing time to really adjust to this conception, let alone a possible life-long commitment. Although this plot device is set up for laughs, and there are a few, there really aren’t that many as this seems to be the lone element the writers depended on.

The theme of adjusting to new situations and growing as a person are well done. Regrettably, there is strong language in the film, as well as frank sexual comments and pre-marital sex, and these issues prevent us from awarding our Dove Seal to the picture as a family-friendly film.

Dove Rating Details

0
Faith

None

0
Integrity

Woman crashes her truck into a tree; a woman accidentally bangs her head on a taxi cab.

4
Sex

Pre-marital sex; several frank sexual comments and innuendos including the use of slang for a few body parts; woman walks as if she's going to leak after being artificially inseminated; woman groans as she has orgasm during foreplay; a "nipples" comment regarding a bottle.

4
Language

GD-1; G/OMG-15; J-2; F-1; S-21; A-9; D-2; H-2; B-1; Sucks-1; P*nis-1; Slang for desiring sex-1; Stupid Head-1; Idiot-1; Multiple uses of the word Poop and Butt.

1
Violence

Woman crashes her truck into a tree; a woman accidentally bangs her head on a taxi cab.

2
Drugs

The drinking of wine; a couple of drinking scenes.

2
Nudity

Cleavage; woman in water giving birth and part of her thigh is seen; woman's rear is seen (she is apparently wearing a thong); shirtless man; man seen in boxers.

2
Other

A mother says she hates her kids; woman vomits but the scene is not graphic; some women play music and chant as a single mother gives birth to her baby in a small pool of water; a couple argues a few times; belching; a woman defecates in water while giving birth but it is mentioned and not seen.

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