Baby, Baby, Baby (EIFF 11)

This quirky indie romantic comedy from Brian Klugman (who also stars) is a lot better than most Hollywood rom-coms, but it’s not original or entertaining enough to rise beyond the three-star level.

Klugman plays Sydney, a thirty-something actor (mostly commercials) and would-be writer (mostly short stories) whose latest girlfriend just dumped him and who doesn’t believe that it’s better to have loved and lost. But then he meets Sunny (Adrianne Palicki) and begins to reconsider. Sunny is a painter and a bartender. They’re both struggling artists ( at least at first) and they fall in love quickly, but they don’t have enough in common and it doesn’t take long for Sydney to think something is off (once again). He uses his short stories to analyze his relationship with Sunny, and this is where the film attracted my attention.

Sydney’s short stories are depicted on screen using a long list of actors making cameo appearances (including William Shatner, Cloris Leachman, Jessica Alba, Dennis Haysbert, Bradley Cooper and Jared Harris). The vignettes are often very funny and always entertaining. Kelsey Grammar is also on hand as the gallery owner who takes an interest in Sunny’s work.

Thanks to the short-story scenes and the cameo appearances, which are unusual in a low-budget indie film, Baby, Baby, Baby is a lot of fun to watch. And, on the whole, the acting is quite good. Unfortunately, too many jokes fall flat  to make it a real winner. A solid ***. My mug is up.