The Back-Up Plan

In this standard-issue romantic comedy, attractive thirtysomething Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) realizes that her biological clock is ticking but she's unable to find Mr. Right and she decides to have a baby using artificial insemination. Immediately after the procedure, as she's leaving the Manhattan office of the fertility specialist (Robert Klein) in pouring rain, Zoe and another soaked pedestrian, Stan (Aussie Alex O'Loughlin), grab the same taxi. He's rude and they squabble, but it's obvious from the get-go that the pair will wind up together. But first we learn that Zoe's given up a corporate job to run a politically correct pet shop with two supportive employees (Eric Christian Olsen, Noureen DeWulf); shares her apartment with a disabled Boston bull terrier; and has a wise grandmother (Linda Lavin) who lives in a retirement home. Zoe and Stan meet again at the weekend cheese stand he runs in Tribeca, after which one thing leads to another. When Zoe later sees shirtless stud muffin Stan driving a tractor at his sustainable goat farm in upstate New York, her chemistry starts churning. Problem is, she's already pregnant—which stuns Stan, particularly since she's expecting twins. Yada, yada, yada. Sporting a cliché-ridden script, director Alan Poul's bland, forgettable film is not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (12 min.), deleted scenes (5 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “movieIQ” track and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a small extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)