Baby Mamas

Baby Mamas_360P

source: Baby Mamas

Moviecut—Baby Mamas

When I sat down to watch the 2018 South African movie "Baby Mamas" from writers Ricardo Arendse and Stephina Zwane, it was for two reasons. First of all, this was a movie that I hadn't already seen, so of course I had an interest in watching it. And secondly, the movie was listed as a comedy here on IMDb, so I figured I was in for a laugh or two. Director Stephina Zwane's movie "Baby Mamas" is definitely not a comedy. It is a drama about four women whom are struggling with various things in life, from being a single parent, struggling with abusive relationships, finding love after a divorce, and such. So this is a drama, and not a comedy. So I was somewhat disappointed, because I was expecting laughs and fun. And with that being said, don't get me wrong, because I am not saying that "Baby Mamas" is a bad movie, not at all. It was actually a wholesome and enjoyable movie, if you sit down to watch a drama and don't expect comedy and laughter. The acting performances in the movie were good, and the four leading actresses Salamina Mosese (playing Toli), Thembisa Mdoda (playing Sandy), Kay Smith (playing Chantel) and Dineo Ranaka (playing Joy) really carried the movie quite well with their performances. Needless to say that with my limited exposure to South African cinema, then I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble here. While "Baby Mamas" was a good enough movie, then I doubt that I will ever return to watch it a second time, simply because the storyline didn't seem to be able to support a second viewing. My rating of "Baby Mamas" lands on a six out of ten stars.

While I celebrate the underlying story of single mothers, their triumphs and tragedies, this film takes steps to portray in its main theme, characters that needlessly emasculate Black men. To be more specific, there is not one strong Black male character in this film. This film could probably be decent if that is all it did, but combine this with a character that presents a narrative trope of the "white savior" who subsequently marries one of the main characters---disappointment arrived. Was that necessary?

source: Baby Mamas

Baby Mamas