Minutes after a woman flies solo into motherhood with artificial insemination, she meets Mr. Right who thinks she’s his dream girl–but isn’t ready for children.

Can we talk about this film?

Of course, this logline doesn’t conform to the standard formula. It sets up the situation, the inciting incident, the gotcha in their relationship — but no specific objective goal is stated.

Well, that’s the way the movie unfolds, folks. It checks the boxes of all the usual tropes of pregnancy (morning sickness, mood swings, upended sex life, the panic drive to the delivery room) but there is nothing that creates dramatic tension other than the dude alternating between hot and cold about committing to a relationship with her.

What was the story hook that got a major star, Jennifer Lopez, attached to the project?? Answer: the setup and inciting incident.? And that is the hook that got me to rent the video.

Obvious the dramatic question is: will the two come to terms of endearment, find true love in the end? That’s the default dramatic question of the romance genre.

And in this flick, if they can’t, while it’s a bummer, she’s a successful business woman. She can support and raise the kids herself. This is JLo: she will survive and thrive.

The flick got a middling 5.3 rating at IMDB. The critics green tomatoed it (18) and the audience threw half ripe tomatoes (48). The movie barely made it’s budget back, and that was probably thanks of the star, JLo.

Actually, I found this movie instructive about the structure and mechanics of the romance genre when compared to adaptations of novels by Jane Austen, the grandmistress, the queen of the romantic genre. But that’s another discussion.