Adding on to the recent films The Switch and Going the Distance comes Life As We Know It, a semi romantic comedy that deals with issues that are heightened real life experiences of child rearing and turbulent relationships, completely believable within the scope of the film, thus in the audiences mind.

As many a pairing do in these films, Holly and Eric start out as two individuals who only put up with being in each other’s presence because of their mutual friends.  However, as bad luck would have it they are forced into a living arrangement together following a tragedy, raising the child of said friends.  As they learn to act as guardians for this child they must also find some way to live together without killing each other.

The situational comedy that occurs when putting these two characters into roles that they weren’t expecting and not ready for is enough to bring about the chuckles, even if it is just from the lowly form of comedy involving poop jokes half of the time.  But hey, sometimes a poop joke is funny, especially when there is a diaper involved. Katherine Heigl plays Holly, an uptight woman who is more ready to accept the motherly role thrust upon her, and less willing to let Eric forget that he is not prepared.  She is a control freak with the irritating ability to nag incessantly on many an occasion, obnoxious from time to time, and pretty much everything expected from a Heigl role at this point.  Josh Duhamel plays the other half of this unlikely pairing.  As Eric he is the less serious, fun loving charmer that easily gets on Holly’s nerves because of his hesitation to put both feet in.  The chemistry between the two is actually quite palpable, even when they are bickering nonstop at each other, and begins to blossom from the level of punching a girl’s arm on the playground to something with the potential for more thanks to the baby shaped catalyst between the two.  Unfortunately the audience’s ability to enjoy the film correlates to just how easily they are charmed and how willing they are to forgive these two for the overused characters that they are.

In addition to the two leads and the scene-stealing baby, the cast is full of great actors filling hardly substantial roles, including Josh Lucas, Hayes MacArthur, and Christina Hendricks.  Each actor provides a new dimension of comedy in addition to the familial humor up front and center, including a ridiculous depiction of a child services agent that always seems to check in at the worst possible moment (played by Sarah Burns).  The comedy stays in check and never gets too far off base, though when it does it is too hilarious to be upset over, providing a healthy dose of laughter to make the predictability of the story from being obnoxiously clichéd.

As easy as it is to peg Life As We Know It as a chick flick, it is easily enjoyable for everyone who is willing to give it a chance.  The comedy set up in this story of a makeshift family that is not ready to be so is well deserved and the chemistry between Heigl, Duhamel, and baby Sophie overcomes the predictability of the story and familiar main characters.

Final Grade: B