The two movies I have selected to review are Baby Boom starring Diane Keaton, and Three Men and a Baby starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson. Both films were released in 1987, and although they are similar in topic, they were received very differently by critics and audiences. The basic plot of both films is as follows: Career or party-minded person "inherits" or is left by a former lover a baby girl. At first they don't want her and don't know what to do with her, but soon they fall in love with her and adjust/adapt their lifestyles to fit their new daughter. This generalization may be the basic plot of the films, but when the details come out, they take very opposing paths.
             The first significant difference is the sex of the main character(s). In Baby Boom, Diane Keaton stars as management consultant JC Wyatt who lives in New York City with her 'partner' and works constantly. She does not go out unless it is with a client and she rarely has sex. In one of the first scenes of the movie he asks her if she wants to make love, they show the clock and when they are done only two minutes have passed. When she inherits this child from distant cousins, she does not know what to do because she does not fit, and never has, the role of mother. It is not part of her life. Here is where her social problem comes in – role conflict. Her role is a single woman with a job, that is her sole identity. Role conflict occurs when incompatible role demands are placed on a person by two or more statuses held at the same time. JC is a working professional, and when she attempts to be a mother, it does not come easily or without stress. This is a very realistic situation; in fact, it is the situation of millions of working mothers and single working mothers across the country. They need to work to provide for themselves and their child, but the stress of playing working woman and mother can be too much for them.
             Three Men and a Baby...