Plan B

I watched this on Apple TV last night and was pleasantly surprised to say the least. I love comedy movies and this one not only has a very original premise (which is apparently hard to do) but it also stars Jon Heder who I hadn't seen in a while. Even though this is marketed as a romantic comedy, I'd say it's way funnier than most of the romcoms coming out nowadays. In terms of humor, it definitely falls in the realm of the R-rated Judd Apatow style romcoms like Trainwreck and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Speaking of, Jamie Lee from Apatow's HBO series Crashing is the lead in this alongside Heder. She's fantastic in this. I hadn't seen her in anything since Crashing and this looks like her first lead role in a movie. I wouldn't be shocked if she starts starring in big blockbuster comedies after this. If you read the logline, you already know that her character is doing something despicable, but she is so funny and charming that you can't help but root for her.

I watched this movie after hearing Vernon Davis bring it up on Julian Edelman's podcast. I've always been a big Vernon Davis fan and thought it was really interesting to hear that he is an actor now. They didn't really give away much information on this movie or what Vernon's role was so I pretty much went in blind. He was honestly only in this movie for like 15 minutes but his part was probably the funniest of the whole movie. Seeing him teach a pregnancy class was so unexpected and I had the biggest smile on my face during that whole scene. I don't want to give too much away, but he has an interaction with someone in the class that is absolutely hysterical. I hope he does more movies like this. I can totally see him being an actor like John Cena or The Rock. Like I said, Vernon was just a supporting character but the rest of the movie was really solid. The storyline was really good and it had good laughs sprinkled throughout. Jon Heder was really funny too. I couldn't remember the last time I saw him in a movie so hopefully this marks a comeback for him.

Greetings again from the darkness. The seeds of some of the best comedies are sown in real life scenarios and take advantage of the awkward reactions of everyday folks. The first feature film from writer-director Brandon Tamburri and co-writer Jean S Monpere takes on a cringeworthy situation that likely happens more frequently than we'd expect: a drunken woman sleeps with a guy and ends up pregnant from the encounter. Her decision tree is questionable leading to drama with real world ramifications. To make this palatable, the filmmakers take a comedic approach.

Jamie Lee ("Crashing") stars as Piper, the above-referenced drunken woman who bumps into her neighbor, Evan Ebert, as she stumbles back home from a night of partying. Most movie goers probably haven't seen Jon Heder on screen since NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (2004), although he has worked regularly and often since. Many will be surprised when he pops up as nice guy (and yes, quite quirky) Evan, the initially lucky neighbor in this scenario. Evan is the kind of guy who introduces himself as "a certified Uber driver", has a pet named Cat Sajak, and has had a quiet crush on Piper for quite some time. In contrast, Piper is the kind who, when she finds out she's pregnant, decides not to tell Evan he's going to be a father, and instead begins scouting for a more acceptable 'Baby Daddy'.

In order to reduce the disgusting nature of Piper's plan, comedy is infused into most every scene. Piper's roommate Maya (Subhah Agarwal, writer on "The Jim Jeffries Show") acts as a bit of conscience for her friend, yet is unsuccessful in talking her out of it. Cameron (Michael Lombardi), a regular customer at the coffee shop where Piper works, is handsome and successful, and due to the necessarily tight timeline, becomes the target of Piper's plan. Again, know that this is mostly played for laughs, including Shannon Elizabeth (AMERICAN PIE, 1999) as Cameron's 'cheesecake' loving inappropriate boss; Kate Flannery ("The Office") as the publisher who is interested in Piper's Instagram "I Spy Love"; and Tom Berenger (with blindingly white teeth) and Suzanne Savoy as Cameron's parents.

If the above description wasn't enough, nice guy Evan also volunteers to accompany Piper to her Lamaze class ... administered by a tough guy played by former NFL player Vernon Davis. Again, all of the inappropriate and insincere aspects of the story (and Piper's actions) are delivered with comedic intentions - most in an exaggerated manner. Of course, we all know how this is going to end, so it really comes down to whether you can accept the humor and the personal growth shown by Piper.

Available on VOD and Digital on September 27, 2024.

Even though I watched this in 2025, it came out in 2024 so I'd say this was absolutely one of my favorite romantic comedies of 2024. I don't recall seeing any trailer or marketing for this movie (but maybe I just missed it) and I'm not sure why. To me, this was just as good as the better romcoms of the last couple years like No Hard Feelings and Anyone But You. It had more of an indie feel to it and it was probably made for a couple million dollars opposed to $25M-$50M like the other films I mentioned. Regardless, Jamie Lee carries this movie and I can't wait to see what she does after this. I get that she's not a big name Sydney Sweeney or Jennifer Lawrence but she truly crushes it in Plan B.

Though this isn't really anything groundbreaking, it's better than the majority of the romantic comedy movies that have come out in the last few years. So many of the Netflix romcoms just aren't funny. I laughed out loud several times while watching this which doesn't happen most of the time. The writing was the best part of the movie. While the dialogue was very funny, the funniest moments of this film were created from the absurd situations that the characters got themselves into. Jon Heder was great every time he was on screen. The scenes with his mom and his cat, Cat Sajak, were my favorites. I wasn't familiar with Michael Lombardi before this movie but he was very handsome and charming.