That's My Baby! (1984 film)

Last updated
That's My Baby!
Directed byJohn Bradshaw
Edie Yolles
Written byJohn Bradshaw
Edie Yolles
Produced byEdie Yolles
Starring Timothy Webber
Sonja Smits
Lenore Zann
Matt Craven
Joann McIntyre
CinematographyW.W. Reeve
Edited byJohn Bradshaw
Stephen Withrow
Edie Yolles
Music by Eric N. Robertson
Production
company
Gemini Film Productions
Distributed by Troma Entertainment
Release date
  • November 30, 1984 (1984-11-30)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

That's My Baby! is a 1984 Canadian comedy film directed by John Bradshaw and Edie Yolles. [1] It was distributed for a brief time by Troma Entertainment.

Contents

The film follows a Toronto couple, Lewis (Timothy Webber) and Suzanne (Sonja Smits). Lewis takes care of the house and works part-time, while Suzanne works full-time as a television producer. Lewis decides he wants a child, but Suzanne worries that it might interfere with her career. [2]

The cast also includes Joann McIntyre, Lenore Zann, Derek McGrath, Daniel Buccos, Kate Trotter, Matt Craven, Les Carlson, Jack Mather, Frank Moore, Peter MacNeill, Meredith Winning, Caroline Sturk, Norma Edwards, Michael Wong, Evan Meister and Kathryn Winning in supporting roles.

Production and distribution

The film's production was first announced in 1980 as the narrative feature debut of Yolles and Bradshaw, following the success of their student documentary film Inner City Angels. [3] Yolles described the film as centred on "the male identity in an increasingly feminist world and the place children have in our lives when we're all looking for self-expression." [3]

It was screened at the Carlton Theatre in Toronto in November 1984 in a bid to make the film eligible for Genie Award consideration, but with the producers explicitly asking for the film not to be reviewed at that time as it did not yet have a commercial distribution deal in place and even its final commercial release print wasn't finished yet. [4] Jay Scott of The Globe and Mail characterized this release strategy as essentially "an attempt to conform to the letter of Academy of Canadian Cinema law while subverting its spirit." [4]

The film ultimately went into limited commercial distribution in 1988. [5]

Critical response

Geoff Pevere panned the film in the Toronto Star , writing that "biology has let Lewis down. He and Suzanne seem like the victims of some cruel gender-joke, trapped in bodies that thwart their deepest desires. Maybe if they were in one of those monthly Hollywood switcheroo comedies - then he could happily bear children, and she could resume her ruthless corporate climb unhindered by either guilt or morning sickness. They could call it He's Having A Baby. Unfortunately, the movie they're stuck in is this one, which means they've got to work things out without benefit of potions, plot contrivances, John Hughes or magic rays." [2]

At the time of the original Carlton run, Scott wrote that the film "turns out to be a mediocre but honorable and not uninteresting Canadian film - nicely directed, awkwardly written, competently performed - on the subject of male motherhood: the man (Timothy Webber) wants a baby, the woman (Sonja Smits) does not. That's My Baby is a run-of-the-mill movie that nonetheless deserves better than to be treated by its ingenuous producers as something that should be kept away from the press. More important is the principle of the thing: the Genie awards deserve better than to be treated by producers as a publicity tool." [4]

When the film received its 1988 release, Chris Dafoe wrote that "the film sets out with the best of intentions. He (Timothy Webber) is a sensitive guy - emotionally retarded, perhaps, but still sensitive - who has trouble finding meaning in life. She (Sonja Smits) is a tough, beautiful TV producer on her way up. He wants a kid. She doesn't. And biology being what it is, they both can't have their way. They argue and split up. After the split, he searches for love in all the wrong places, trying to find a compatible mate in these sexually confused times. The problem is, of course, that while the filmmakers would like us to see this quest as his attempt to come to grips with a changing world, the lingering image is of a man in search of a brood mare." [6]

Awards

The film received two Genie Award nominations at the 6th Genie Awards in 1985, for Best Actress (Smits) and Best Sound Editing (Michel B. Bordeleau). [7]

Related Research Articles

Sonja Smits is a Canadian actress. She was nominated for two Genie Awards: for Videodrome (1983) and That's My Baby! (1984). On television, she starred in Street Legal (1987-1992) and Traders (1996-2000).

The 1st Genie Awards were presented on March 20, 1980, and honoured films released in 1979.

Ronald Mann is a Canadian documentary film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoff Pevere</span> Canadian film critic and radio broadcaster (born 1957)

Geoff Pevere is a Canadian lecturer, author, broadcaster, teacher, arts and media critic, currently the program director of the Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival in Toronto. He is a former film critic, book columnist and cultural journalist for the Toronto Star, where he worked from 1998 to 2011. His writing has appeared in several newspapers, magazines and arts journals, and he has worked as a broadcaster for both radio and television. He has lectured widely on cultural and media topics, and taught courses at several Canadian universities and colleges. In 2012, he contributed weekly pop culture columns to CBC Radio Syndication, which were heard in nearly twenty markets across Canada. He has also been a movie columnist and regular freelance contributor with The Globe and Mail.

Peter Lynch is a Canadian filmmaker, most noted as the director and writer of the documentary films Project Grizzly, The Herd and Cyberman.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role to the best performance by a lead actor in a Canadian film. The award was first presented in 1968 by the Canadian Film Awards, and was presented annually until 1978 with the exception of 1969, when no eligible feature films were submitted for award consideration, and 1974 due to the cancellation of the awards that year.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role to the best performance by a lead actress in a Canadian film. The award was first presented in 1968 by the Canadian Film Awards, and was presented annually until 1978 with the exception of 1969, when no eligible feature films were submitted for award consideration, and 1974 due to the cancellation of the awards that year.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role to the best performance by a supporting actor in a Canadian film. The award was first presented in 1970 by the Canadian Film Awards, and was presented annually until 1978 with the exception of 1974 due to the cancellation of the awards that year.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role to the best performance by a supporting actress in a Canadian film. The award was first presented in 1970 by the Canadian Film Awards, and was presented annually until 1978 with the exception of 1974 due to the cancellation of the awards that year.

The Canadian Screen Award for Best Costume Design is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian costume designer. It was formerly called the Genie Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design before the Genies were merged into the Canadian Screen Awards.

The Canadian Screen Award for Best Achievement in Sound Mixing is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best work by a sound designer in a Canadian film. Formerly known as Best Overall Sound, it was renamed to Best Sound Mixing at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Achievement in Music: Original Song to the best original song in a Canadian motion picture.

The Canadian Screen Award for Best Animated Short is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian animated short film. Formerly part of the Genie Awards, since 2012 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Feature Length Documentary. First presented in 1968 as part of the Canadian Film Awards, it became part of the Genie Awards in 1980 and the contemporary Canadian Screen Awards in 2013.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television's Award for Best Short Documentary is an annual Canadian film award, presented to a film judged to be the year's best short documentary film. Prior to 2012 the award was presented as part of the Genie Awards program; since 2012 it has been presented as part of the expanded Canadian Screen Awards.

Martha, Ruth and Edie is a Canadian drama film, released in 1988. An anthology film directed by Deepa Mehta, Norma Bailey and Danièle J. Suissa, the film centres on the titular Martha, Ruth and Edie, who meet after being locked out of the auditorium at a personal development seminar, and instead share personal stories from their own lives among themselves. Each of their stories is a dramatization of a short story by a Canadian writer, and is directed by one of the three credited directors.

Calling the Shots is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Janis Cole and Holly Dale and released in 1988. The film analyzes the changing role of women in the film industry, through the reflections of various female performers and filmmakers.

The Climb is a 1986 Canadian-British co-produced adventure drama film, directed by Donald Shebib. A dramatization of mountaineer Hermann Buhl's 1953 attempt to climb Nanga Parbat, the film stars Bruce Greenwood as Buhl alongside James Hurdle, Kenneth Welsh, Ken Pogue, Thomas Hauff, Guy Bannerman, David James Elliott and Tom Butler as members of his expedition.

To the Rhythm of My Heart is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Jean Pierre Lefebvre and released in 1983. Made during his national tour of Canada for a 1981 retrospective of his films compiled by the Canadian Film Institute, the film is a video diary documenting both his philosophical and creative discussions on the co-operative movement in cinema as part of the tour and the concurrent illness and death of his wife, film editor and producer Marguerite Duparc.

Miklós Lente was a Canadian cinematographer and filmmaker. He was most noted for his work on the 1978 film In Praise of Older Women, for which he won the Canadian Film Award for Best Cinematography at the 29th Canadian Film Awards and the Canadian Society of Cinematographers award for Best Cinematography in a Feature.

References

  1. Gerald Pratley, A Century of Canadian Cinema. Lynx Images, 2003. ISBN   1-894073-21-5. p. 216.
  2. 1 2 Geoff Pevere, "Baby flick prophetic without being wise". Toronto Star , May 13, 1988.
  3. 1 2 Debra Sharp, "Filmmaker begins career at the top". The Globe and Mail , November 18, 1980.
  4. 1 2 3 Jay Scott, "Undermining the spirit of Genie rules". The Globe and Mail , December 3, 1984.
  5. Dana Flavelle, "Don't mess with filmmaker Edie --or her baby". Toronto Star , May 22, 1988.
  6. Chris Dafoe, "Film review: That's My Baby". The Globe and Mail , May 13, 1988.
  7. Jay Scott, "Bay Boy reels in 11 Genie nominations". The Globe and Mail , February 15, 1985.