I had heard the title of this movie a few times, I knew it was about talking baby, I knew one or two of the stars, and I knew it followed with two not as good sequels, so I finally got to trying it when I got the opportunity, directed by Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless). Basically in New York, career-minded accountant Mollie Jensen (Kirstie Alley) has an affair with her client, executive Albert (George Segal), a womaniser who is a married with two children. When Mollie becomes pregnant, she and Albert keep their indiscretion secret, under the idea that she was artificially inseminated, Albert says he will leave his wife and two children for her. But then he is caught fooling around with his interior designer Melissa (Joy Boushel), Mollie leaves upset, and immediately goes into labour. She gets into a taxi, driver James Ubriacco (John Travolta) speeds through the city to get to the hospital in time, and inadvertently becomes witness to the birth of Mollie's son. The baby is named Michael, or "Mikey", and ever since his conception, he has been making commentary on his life, he interacts with everything through an inner wisecracking voice (Bruce Willis), which he also uses to communicate with other babies. Hoping to get her life back on track, Mollie becomes a dedicated single mother, rejecting several men in a search to find a new father figure, dismissing them for quirks that may reflect badly on Mikey. Mollie meets James again, he has moved into the apartment building in order to find his grandfather Vincent (Abe Vigoda) a nice care home, she occasionally asks him to babysit. There is an instance where she takes the baby to the airport, where James is a part-time pilot, she takes a nap, Mikey is taken by James, she into a panic thinking he has been kidnapped. A year passes, Mikey has grown a little, James realises his feelings for Mollie, he deliberately sabotages one of her dates, she also realises the bond between him and Mikey, she decides to give him a chance. James has found his grandfather a care home, he takes Mollie to flying lessons, she realises she is falling for him, but when they become intimate, she imagines their life together and resists, then James tells her he loves her, but she says she wants what is best for Mikey and kicks him out. Back at work, Mollie's boss insists she and Albert work together, Albert wants to see Mikey, she agrees, but when he visits, he meets James and they get into an argument. James asks Mollie if she loves Albert, she claims she does not know, James suggests he is closest thing to a father Mikey has. But Mollie tells him that he is like a big kid and is not responsible enough to be a father, James calls her out for using Mikey to push men away including himself and he storms out. At the playground, Mikey talks to other children, they tell him what "daddies" are, he realises he wants James as his daddy, James later comes to the apartment to tell Mikey he will not be around anymore, Mollie overhears him pouring his heart out on the baby monitor, Mikey says he will miss James too. Mollie takes Mikey to the office for Albert to meet him, but he claims he does not want the responsibility of being a father, Mollie realises he has not changed, she and Mikey ruin several pieces of furniture before storming out, putting Albert out of their lives for good. Mollie receives a call from Vincent's care home, telling her that's James's grandfather is disruptive and abusive to staff, she helps to clear up the error with involving a stash of chocolate given to him. James arrives, and he and Mollie make up, meanwhile Mikey wanders off on his own, searching for James, he is taken away in a car while Mollie and James frantically search for him. Mollie and James eventually spot him and give chase, until Mikey is standing in the middle of heavy traffic, James and Mollie take him to safety, where Mikey unofficially asks James to be his father by saying his first word "dada". James and Mollie realise that Mikey already sees James as his father, they decide to give it a chance, kissing passionately, while Mikey decides to wait to tell them he needs a diaper change, and nine months later, Mollie gives birth to a baby daughter Julie (voiced by Joan Rivers), who makes her first wisecracking comment. Also starring Olympia Dukakis as Rosie, Christopher Aydon as Mikey (age 2 years), Jacob Haines as Mikey (age 1 year), Jaryd Waterhouse as Mikey (age 6 months), Jason Schaller as Mikey (fetus-newborn) and Twink Caplan as Rona. Travolta had only one or two passable films before this one, most others being flops, this brought him back into the limelight (five years before Pulp Fiction made him massive), Alley is likeable, she and Travolta are a pleasant couple, despite her not realising he is the right guy all along, it is Willis that gets the best lines throughout the movie, making baby-based gags. It is a fairly clever concept, a wiesecracking baby only heard by the audience, it is predictable in terms of the story itself, but I can see I suppose why it became a hit movie, hence spawning the daft sequels, all in all an amusing and fun enough comedy. Worth watching!

"Look Who's Talking" is an enjoyable and entertaining comedy whose best achievement is to tackle very adult subjects with never falling in the trap of crude and unreasonably vulgar humor, the material contains very explicit sexual undertones, yet from beginning to end, it's still an original, a daring and endearing film, and yes … maybe one of the best comedies of the 80's.I might be biased by using the word 'best' since the movie has always been one of my favorite as a child, and one of the few that I could recite line by line, scene by scene, but I trust my maturity even as a 10-year old kid, I have an alibi, I didn't like the sequel even at that time, so I know I loved the film not just because it was featuring sexual material or a kid talking like an adult, it was a funny, warm and entertaining story. And to understand why this film is great on so many levels, you just need to watch the sequels.In fact, the whole "Look Who's Talking" premise, which is about hearing the kid's thoughts, spoken by an adult voice, Bruce Willis, as original and clever as it is, would have been pointless if the film wasn't driven by a real story that could appeal to the parents who'd come with their kids in the theater. If the baby was the focus, it would have been a cute but forgettable film just like "Baby's Day Out", something funny but without substance, or worse, a cult oddity à la "Howard the Duck", but Amy Heckerling's film was about a mother looking for a fatherly figure to raise her son. And even this synopsis could have lead to a lesser film, if it wasn't for a nice touch of casting with Kirstie Alley as Mollie, and John Travolta as James, the first come-back before "Pulp Fiction". There's something so natural growing between these two actors, who were not big stars at that time, and maybe that contributed not to distract the film from its simplicity. In a way, this is what makes the film slightly better, or more appealing than "When Harry Met Sally…", because it doesn't look marketed to touch hearts, simple actors, a cast of honorable supporting stars, George Segal, Olympia Dukakis, Abe Vigoda, no big stars, but a great story … although, for the movie's defense, I think it should have garnered some Golden Globe nominations in the Comedy/Musical category, if only for the lead roles.What makes the Alley-Travolta duo work, beyond the well-written script, is the great chemistry both have together, something that takes its time to become a reality, but when it happens, we know we're not watching cinematic clichés but real people. There's also another element, which is the genuine and authentic love both have for Mikey, the baby. Mollie doesn't play a mother, she's a real mother, as tough, vulnerable, hysterical or passionate as any other, and the complicity between James and Mikey is one of the things that I think touched me the most as a kid. James was more than a baby-sitter, he was a buddy for Mikey, and isn't this the true cement of a father-and-son relationship, being best friends?Again, the film deals with these subjects without flirting with stereotypes, it has the guts to evoke artificial insemination, to feature a hilarious scene of fecundation with spermatozoa riding their way to the targeted ovule following the "Get Around" Beach Boys' song, and it's always fun and charming because the material is treated with the level of humor that doesn't make you feel guilty to appreciate what you watch. That way, the movie is worth many Sex Ed programs: indeed, my little brother never had to ask how we 'made babies' after this. The movie also features some borderlines lines as when the mother says that the artificial insemination "is the kind of thing a girl does if she's very ugly or a lesbian." Offensive? Maybe … but wouldn't a mother talk like that to her daughter? This is the film's strength, every character speaks truly, the way we would expect and all these realistic interactions with the baby Mikey as the sentimental core, provides a great comedy film and so many memorable moments, among which my favorite, is the great dance sequence between John Travolta and the baby with "I'm Walkin' on the Sunshine". There is one part where Travolta holds Mikey in his arms and a smile of joy which in no way, looks acted, I know the "Pulp Fiction" dance sequence will forever be revered as one of the greatest Travolta's moments but this one will always come as a close second in my memories."Look Who's Talking" is a charming little film, with 'little' as a compliment, it never tries to exceed the limits of its ambitions, and is short enough not to drag on some parts, the music, the writing, the characterization, everything contributes to create this enjoyable feeling. And to end on an anecdote, I watched the film videotaped and for some reason, my dad stopped the recording right when the ending credits started, so I never saw the scene where they visit Mollie with her newborn baby Julie, the scene announcing the second opus. Apparently, Heckerling was already planning to make a sequel, but when "Look Who's Talking" was over, when we knew who'd be Mikey's father, when we heard his cute little voice, and saw what a movie where we could hear the voice of baby would look like, then what was the purpose of a sequel? How could have it been as original or appealing? I would have asked 'why' myself if I saw this, and this is why I failed to appreciate the sequel as a kid, and even more as an adult.

Look Who's Talking is one of my favourite "feelgood" movies - the kind you watch when you just want to sit back, laugh, and not have to think too much.Kirstie Alley plays Mollie, a 30-something accountant who finds herself pregnant by her sleazy married boyfriend (played annoyingly well by George Segal). After he abandons her for yet another mistress, she meets James (John Travolta), the cabbie who drives her to the hospital when she goes into labour.The story that follows is par for the romantic comedy course - James falls in love with both mother and baby, while Mollie (at least initially) only sees him as a platonic friend and babysitter/surrogate father figure for son Mikey. She searches relentlessly for a suitable father for the child - dating a series of losers and even briefly attempting a reconciliation with Mikey's bio-dad. It takes her awhile, but she finally realizes that the right man has been right under her nose the whole time.Bruce Willis is a hoot as the voice of baby Mikey - and the little boys who play Mikey are suitably adorable. The soundtrack music is fantastic, featuring the likes of Janis Joplin, The Beach Boys, and the Talking Heads.Alley and Travolta have amazing on-screen chemistry, whereas Alley and Segal have virtually none - which, of course, is the whole point. Olympia Dukakis also has some funny scenes as Alley's meddling mom; as does Abe Vigoda as Travolta's senile grandpa.Alley's character Mollie may be a bit unsympathetic at first - she is, after all, the "other woman" in an extramarital affair. But before long, you find yourself rooting for her to find true love and a father for her son. The movie is not perfect - it has it's share of flaws. But overall, there's not much to dislike. It's just plain fun to watch. A definite thumbs-up.

Sure there may be some predictabilities in the story and one or two rushed scenes, but Look Who's Talking is a very charming and funny film and significantly better than its sequels. It looks very nice, has a good soundtrack and has some likable characters too. The script also has a lot of funny and somewhat quotable parts too.The direction is fine, as is the acting. Bruce Willis is perfect as the voice of Mikey, while John Travolta is equally wonderful with a great smile. And George Seagal comes very close to stealing the show as his character goes through a selfish phase.Overall, charming and funny. Nothing outstanding, but it was great to watch and I enjoyed it very much. 8/10 Bethany Cox