The Back-up Plan
CBS Films | Release Date: April 23, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
34
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
18
Negative:
10
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Jennifer Lopez carries this thin concept about as far and as well as she can, with Alex O'Loughlin in his first leading-man outing managing not to get lost in the shuffle. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian Lowry
This tepid romantic comedy falls somewhere between a weak sitcom pilot and a second-tier Hallmark movie. Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
O’Loughlin is the very definition of comic dead weight. Imagine making Greg Kinnear carry half of "Baby Mama," or sending Tina Fey out with Matthew Fox on "Date Night" and you’ll get the picture. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
This is the film to watch when pretty much everything else has been sold out and the only remaining choices are The Back-Up Plan and the latest Rob Schneider opus. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Cutesy and formulaic and has the approximate depth of a cookie sheet. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Lopez smiles, whines, and blinks her way through this movie. She seems more relaxed than she ever has. And yet it seems like she’s hiding in romantic comedies, lest we discover that she doesn’t have a “Monster’s Ball’’ or even a “Blind Side’’ in her. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
A film divided against itself. It’s really two movies, one silly and one serious. Too bad neither is particularly compelling. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
A not very good and yet painless waste of time. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Suffers from sludgy pacing, flat writing and acting, and a strange and puzzling fondness for scatology and coarse language. Read full review
50
Boxoffice MagazinePete Hammond
Although it’s formulaic in the extreme, The Back-up Plan is an easygoing romantic comedy treat for fans of Jennifer Lopez. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
When it comes to comedies about pregnancy, "Knocked Up" and "Baby Mama" delivered more. This sitcom style exercise in planned parenthood is blandly predictable. If it were a cheese, it would be Velveeta. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
Lopez, appearing in her first rom-com since “Monster-in-Law” five years ago, is still a likable screen presence who throws herself into the movie’s slapstick sequences with unwarranted enthusiasm. Read full review
50
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
Even at its worst moments, it's better than "awful." But at its best, it's never comes close to "incredible." Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
It's not as if every funny movie has to offer something in the way of social commentary or greater insight. Sometimes funny is just funny. Sometimes, as is too often the case here, it's not. Read full review
40
SlateDana Stevens
I wouldn't go so far as to recommend this movie, but if you were tied down and forced to watch it, you wouldn't necessarily have to chew off your own leg to get away. Read full review
40
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
A dispiriting and thoroughly ineffective romantic comedy, with some juicy morsels provided around the edges by a great supporting cast but no heat whatever in the central coupling between Lopez and Aussie TV hunk Alex O'Loughlin. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
Good slapstick is actually an art -- unfortunately not one practiced here -- and bad slapstick is just tedious. Read full review
40
EmpireAnna Smith
Sporadically amusing but rarely inspired. Read full review
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