Entertainment : Movies & TV

Women carry 'Underbelly'

By Corinne Minard, Staff Writer
   
April 24, 2007 | 1:34 p.m.

"Notes From the Underbelly, "the new comedy from ABC, is no “A Baby Story.” While it doesn't mock pregnancy, the show takes a humorous look at the horrors it can bring.

The show begins with married couple Andrew (Peter Cambor) and Lauren (Jennifer Westfeldt) discovering that Lauren is pregnant. Not only are they unsure if they are prepared for the pregnancy, they have friends that make them doubt it even more. Their married friends, Julie (Melanie Paxson) and Eric (Sunkrish Bala), are the overly obsessive expectant parents who spend their time practicing with a doll to make sure that they have the parenting thing down. Cooper (Rachel Harris of “Best Week Ever”), Lauren’s best friend, is a single, career woman who fears Lauren’s descent into the “mommy cult.” Andrew’s best friend, Danny (Michael Weaver), just cares that his own situation doesn’t change. These conflicting attitudes, along with Lauren and Andrew’s own fears, create a show that focuses more on the freak-out and adjustment of being pregnant than the wonder.

The show, while based of the book of the same name by Risa Green, has a tone all its own. Each episode focuses on something simple, such as figuring out how to tell friends of the pregnancy or dealing with crazy cravings. What makes the episodes unique is that the responses are completely different than anything seen on TLC. When Cooper discovers that Lauren hasn’t been drinking the shots of tequila they’ve been served at a bar, she says, “You little whore. You’re pregnant.”

Later, Lauren’s cravings help her pass a driving test by explaining the secret codes of fast food restaurants to her instructor. These are clearly not the normal family moments expected from a pregnancy show.

Andrew narrates the half-hour comedy, but it is clearly the women who rule. Paxson is almost creepy in her ability to switch from bubbly friend to motherhood-obsessed woman. Bala, who plays her husband, hardly makes an impact on screen because of Paxson's strength. Westfeldt outshines Cambor every time. While he seems to merely going through the motions of the part, she makes the fears of a shopaholic-turned-pregnant woman seem real.

It is Harris who commands attention, though. Cooper may only be a side character, but it is her lines that are the most memorable. When the show starts to enter sap territory, Harris is there to comment on the size of the pregnant women. With a character like Cooper preformed by someone like Harris, the show is able to not completely cross over into moments too sentimental.

The problem with having such strong female leads is that the men become more like ornamentation than actual people. Bala has little to do in each episode. Weaver's character is useless, anyway, so his brief moments on screen seem irritating because he doesn’t lend himself to the plot. Then, there is poor Cambor. He’s funny and does perform well, but he seems flat next to Westfeldt. His narration is the best thing he offers, it being humorous (and, at times, insightful) in ways that the rest of his role doesn’t provide.

Though the men seem to have little to do, “Tales From the Underbelly” is funny and a welcome relief from the annoying sap that seems to seep from other baby shows. Its ability to navigate both the sentimental and the insane moments make it a show worth taking notice. “A Baby Story” may be real, but “Underbelly” has more of the bite that reality seems to have.

"Notes from the Underbelly" airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.

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