The latest to roll off the assembly line from the novice writing team of Ian Deitchman and Kristin Rusk Robinson could be a pilot episode for a television sitcom. It spans a year in the life of an orphaned infant named Sophie (alternately played by 18-month-old triplets Lexie, Brynn and Brooke Clagett) raised by her godparents Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl from “Knocked Up” and “Grey’s Anatomy”) and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel from “Transformers” and “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!”).

The movie flashes back three years to a blind date between Holly and Eric, whom everyone calls by his last name. They were set up by their mutual friends Alison and Peter (Christina Hendricks of “Mad Men” and Hayes MacArthur). Things get off on the wrong foot as Messer is one hour late. He drives a motorcycle and Holly refuses to ride on the back of it in her dress and heels. They get in her Smart car and Messer takes a booty call from another chick arranging a late night rendezvous. Holly throws him out of her car and announces that she never wants to see him again.

Montages appear over the opening credits of Alison and Peter’s wedding, a Christmas party with Alison pregnant and the birth of their daughter. The movie, set in Atlanta, begins with Sophie’s first birthday party. Three sets of neighbors are in attendance along with Holly and Messer. Holly is the caterer of the party. She owns her own gourmet bakery/café. Messer is an easy-going playboy who works as a technical director for the Atlanta Hawks basketball games. He wears a baseball cap to hide his receding hairline. He only thinks about his next sexual conquest or drinking another bottle of beer.

Shortly after the party, Holly flirts with Sam (Josh Lucas from “Poseidon” and “Glory Road”), a regular sandwich customer, who turns out to be a pediatrician. She takes his business card out of a fishbowl and leaves an invitation for dinner message on his answering machine while taking a bubble bath. She then receives a call as an emergency contact from the police with the bad news that Alison and Peter were killed in a car accident. Their will names Holly and Messer as co-guardians of Sophie and sets up a fund to continue the mortgage payments on the house.

Holly and Messer are granted temporary custody and become a makeshift family living under one roof. They make the most of a tough situation with detailed charts and schedules for the care-giving responsibilities. They are constantly bickering and at each other’s throats.

Their characters grow on you and get under your skin. The emotions are genuine and the screenplay runs the gamut through all the challenges of raising a child.

Sophie is adorable. She steals every scene with just a look or a smile The realistic Kodak moments include a crying jag, finicky eating, changing diapers, sleep deprivation, first steps and uttering the word momma.

Complications come in the form of a social worker (Sarah Burns) from Child Protective Services viewed as a threat to continued custody, a lucrative, career-advancing job offer for Messer in Phoenix, monetary concerns as bills for clothes, daycare and medical services mount up, and an evolving romantic triangle with Holly dating Sam.

There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments thrown into the mix along with some quiet romantic dinners.

The movie pulls at your heart strings and takes some unexpected detours before arriving at a happy ending. This harmless, inoffensive movie is like junk food that provides a wellspring of comfort and warmth. Newlyweds planning a family will get a taste of what’s in store for them and how you can never be fully prepared to be a parent.

Review By:
Keith Cohen "The Movie Guy"