What to Expect When You're Expecting (PG-13) ★★★½

Using the formula so many unsuccessful romantic comedies have employed before it (looking at you, Valentine's Day), What to Expect When You're Expecting wrangles a cast of big name stars, but drops them in roles perfectly aligned with their sensibilities. Paired with a relatable central concept — one way or another, we've all seen a side of pregnancy — director Kirk Jones (Waking Ned Devine) pulls off a comedy that's sweet, poignant and, most importantly, funny. The experience of having a baby presented in the film isn't glorified or glamorized, nor is it a one-person job resting on the women's shoulders, making What to Expect a blockbuster comedy that delivers a little something for everyone.

Taking place primarily in Atlanta, What to Expect bounces back and forth between a handful of couples with babies on the brain: Wendy (Elizabeth Banks) and Gary (Ben Falcone) are desperately trying to get pregnant, while Gary's NASCAR legend father, Ramsey (Dennis Quaid), is (frustratingly) having no problem with his trophy wife Skyler (Brooklyn Decker); Weight loss TV personality Jules (Cameron Diaz) takes home the top prize at a celeb dance-off at the same time she discovers she's carrying her dance partner Evan's (Matthew Morrison) child; Holly (Jennifer Lopez) and Alex (Rodrigo Santoro) are finally ready to take the plunge into the world of adoption, but the actual process turns out to be an uphill battle; and Rosie (Anna Kendrick), a food truck owner, has a wild night out with her competition (and former flame) Marco (Chace Crawford), that puts them both in a difficult situation. If you guessed she's pregnant, you'd be correct.

What to Expect's DNA is a closer to match Woody Allen's Every Thing You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask than anything out of the generic rom-com playbook. The screenplay from Heather Hach and Shauna Crossm is sharp, with even the silliest and most expected gags landing thanks to the comedic talents of Banks, Diaz, Kendrick and the wicked rapport of the "Dude's Group," sporting Chris Rock, Thomas Lennon, Rob Huebel, Amir Talai and Joe Manganiello. Even Decker, who outshines her costars in Battleship, holds her own, taking the bubbly blonde to a whole other level

The movie makes a bold move to mix the less shiny moments of pregnancy in with the broad comedy and the results are mixed. Rosie and Marco's struggle with their accidental pregnancy takes a dramatic turn that doesn't feel earned in the grand scheme of things. Kendrick handles it with grace, but pregnancy in its darkest moments require breathing room and with so many stories to juggle, What to Expect can't afford it. Jennifer Lopez is the movie's biggest weakness, a thread that never digs deep (or illicit laughs) from the roller coaster ride of adoption. The couple's predicament forces J.Lo to stick mostly to pouting and is completely overshadowed by the movie's highlights.

Thankfully, those highlights are plentiful. Whether Diaz is spoofing Biggest Loser with her satirical take on TV personalities, Banks is having a meltdown during her keynote at a baby expo or Rock is delivering a profanity-laden soliloquy on why dads need to man up, What to Expect keeps laughs coming. Hollywood rarely gives birth to a comedy that's both hilarious and honest. What to Expect hits both chords, defying expectations.