Life as We Know It [Blu-Ray]

On Blu-Ray supplement "Katherine Heigl: Becoming the Best Mom Ever," the ex-Grey's Anatomy star mentions jokingly that she tends to play uptight, obsessive-compulsive type-A characters, while pointing out the craziness of playing a new mother on film when she was a new mother in real life at the same time. What she fails to mention is that she has literally played this character in everything she's done for the last decade since 100 Girls and Bride of Chucky, where she had a bit of a sense of humour. This is fine, I suppose, since Meg Ryan made a good run of playing the quirky girl next door for a good 15 years and Julia Roberts is still making millions playing a self-righteous bitch, but Heigl's films have been floundering ever since the surprising success of 27 Dresses. Life as We Know It is no exception, being little more than a serviceable formula film comprised almost entirely of baby montages and unlikely scenarios. Here, the American dream of antiquated feminine standards is dropped on the blonde starlet in one fell swoop when her best friend dies in a car accident, leaving her in charge of a newborn daughter. The only catch is that irresponsible pretty boy Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) was also named a Godparent, leaving the bickering pair to enter an implausible, ersatz, heteronormative parental union, where misunderstanding and tomfoolery take centre stage. Because they're both pretty and single, we can guess where things go, but it wouldn't be a rom-com if there weren't some roadblocks along the way and at least five jokes about baby shit. In all fairness, the formula works quite well, despite the obvious laboured contrivances, like career interruption and unspoken lusts. Heigl and Duhamel do actually have some chemistry in scenes of parental panic and many of the secondary actors, such as Melissa McCarthy and Jessica St. Clair, find comedy in their one-note archetypes. Resultantly, while patronizing, this bland title is pleasant enough and watchable, even if it's also instantly forgettable. Also included with the Blu-Ray is a supplement with Josh Duhamel discussing his relationship with the triplets that play the baby, along with a brief interview piece where the secondary actors make jokes about parenthood.