Baby Boom (1987)

Diane Keaton and Sam Shepard star in this 1987 comedy-drama. Keaton plays J.C. Wiatt, a New York business woman who longs to make it to the top of the corporate world. Her life changes, when she inherits baby girl, Elizabeth (Kristina and Michelle Kennedy) and things go unexpectedly for her. She decides to move to Vermont where she becomes successful on her own and finds romance with animal doctor, Jeff Cooper (Shepard). It's then that J.C. realizes that some things are more important and worth giving up for. This is a good 80's film with humorous and heartwarming moments, Keaton is great in it and I think it's one her best. I recommend this.

First of all, Diane Keaton is always worth watching, she can make even a lousy movie somewhat watchable. And she does her best with role as a workaholic yuppie who inherits an infant, but sadly, the movie starts to lag and the story becomes predictable. Baby Boom actually begins with some strong comic scenes, I especially liked her funny passionless relationship with Harold Ramis, but halfway through the laughs are gone, and the second half of the movie is almost entirely melodrama. Drama is fine, but melodrama is my term for slow and unsatisfying. The movie has a sweet message about making professional sacrifices for the sake of a family, but then again, not every woman needs a child to be happy. As others have pointed out, there are definitely some mixed messages here for career women.

After about 25 or more years of only reading about this film, I finally watched this on Netflix disc with my mom just now. We both really enjoyed this tale about a businesswoman played by Diane Keaton suddenly having a baby forced into her life after a cousin she hardly knew and that cousin's spouse dies and she inherits that child. Harold Ramis is amusing as the initial bedmate. I also liked seeing former SNLer Mary Gross as her secretary and current member of the show at the time, Victoria Jackson, as the initial nanny. My favorite scene concerns Ms. Keaton's first encounter with Sam Shepard when she finds out he's a vet whom she just revealed her not having sex for a long time! I'll stop there and just say this was a little funny and a little romantic. Nicely written by Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer who also directed. So that's a recommendation of Baby Boom.

Baby Boom is a very warm, delightful, funny romantic comedy that I absolutely love. I've seen it many times, but I was channel surfing last night and came upon it about 20 minutes into the movie and I had to watch it again, of course. Because today's workplace environment is much more "mom-friendly", this movie seems a bit outdated to women who were born after 1970. Many of them probably will not appreciate the plight of the main character, J.C. Wyatt (played by Diane Keaton) as much as we "older" women who worked through the 80's and beyond. But taken in this context, this movie is great entertainment.I particularly enjoy the problems she encounters with her "new" home in Vermont (reminiscent of "Money Pit" and "Funny Farm") and also the relationship that develops between Diane Keaton's character the that of Sam Shepherd, the handsome country veterinarian. Some scenes are downright hilarious. Others, sweet and tender. Although I'd consider this a "chick flick" my husband enjoys it and I think many other men would like it too. The morale of the story seems to be "do what makes you happy and not necessarily what society dictates". Quite ambitious for an 80's movie.My recommendation would be to pop in this DVD, pop some popcorn, curl up on the couch and derive some guilty pleasure with this flick