What to Expect When You’re Expecting (Rated PG-13)

Oh, “Valentine’s Day” what have you wrought?  While it wasn’t nearly the first film to feature storylines that weave together, its huge success has romantic comedies going out of their way to mimic that success.

“New Year’s Eve” was a box office miss, and now “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” hopes to become the “Valentine’s Day” for the maternity set.  It fails.

With little to do with the popular pregnancy book other than its title, the movie covers five women, their relationships and their pregnancies. 

Elizabeth Banks is Wendy, a lactating specialist who has never had a child, but is desperately hoping to find that ‘glow.’  Once she finally conceives, she has the pregnancy from Hell.  Adding to the problem is her father-in-law’s new wife (Brooklyn Decker), who is also pregnant and experiences none of the symptoms that Wendy is suffering from. 

Cameron Diaz is a fitness guru ala Jillian Michaels character from The Biggest Loser.  She finds herself pregnant after a fling with her dance coach (Glee’s Matthew Morrison) from a dancing reality television show.   Jennifer Lopez is featured in a story about adoption, and Anna Kendrick (Twilight) deals with the darker side of pregnancy.

This is an extremely likable cast, but it never really comes together as a cohesive film.  None of the stories has a lick of originality to them, and the ‘connections’ that are supposed to bring the stories together are razor thin.

Ultimately, this isn’t a terrible movie, but it’s largely forgettable.  This is one that I would say skip in the theater, but maybe give it viewing when it comes out on DVD.