Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
J.C. Wiatt is a talented and ambitious New York City career woman who is married to her job and working towards partner at her firm. She has a live-in relationship with Steven, a successful investment broker who, along with J.C., agreed children aren't part of the plan. J.C.'s life takes an unexpected turn when a distant relative dies and the will appoints her the caretaker of their baby girl, Elizabeth. The baby's sudden arrival causes Steven to leave, breaking off their relationship. Juggling power lunches and powdered formula, she is soon forced off the fast track by a conniving colleague and a bigoted boss. But she won't stay down for long. She'll prove to the world that a woman can have it all and on her own terms too!
Baby Boom is a competent and charming late-80s comedy-drama that rides largely on Diane Keaton's appealing performance. The plot hits familiar fish-out-of-water and career-vs-family beats without much subversion — the yuppie-finds-herself-through-motherhood arc is fairly predictable, and the Vermont entrepreneurship pivot feels conveniently tidy. Keaton elevates standard material with genuine warmth and comic timing, but the supporting cast (Sam Shepard included) is underwritten. Cinematography is functional and unremarkable, competent studio work without distinctive visual choices. Novelty is limited — the premise recycles well-worn 'having it all' tropes of the era, and while it does so amiably, it breaks little new ground. The ending wraps things up satisfyingly if a bit too neatly, delivering the expected feel-good resolution without earning it through dramatic complexity.