DVD The Baby

Twisted

As "The Baby" starts, we learn that social worker Ann Gentry (Anjanette Comer) has decided to accept one of the strangest assignments of her career. She will begin visiting the Wadsworth residence a few times a week in order to monitor that family's treatment of their infant son. The clan consists of the husky voiced, chain-smoking mother (played with a nod and a wink by an aging Ruth Roman), two gorgeous yet snotty sisters named Alba and Germaine, and Baby. Nothing too odd here, except Baby is actually a full grown man who cannot speak, walk, or take care of himself. Baby spends most of his time in a playpen in the house or in a crib out on the lawn where he gurgles and gasps to himself and his family. Neither the mother or the sisters care much for Baby but they have to go through the motions if they want to keep those state aid checks coming in. The entire family tolerates Ann with barely contained disdain, grudgingly putting up with her frequent surprise visits. As Gentry gains a familiarity with Baby, she becomes convinced that the man-child has the capacity to learn how to speak and walk. When Comer's character becomes convinced that the Wadsworths are subtly thwarting her efforts to help Baby, she recommends the child be removed from the house. The family defies Ann at every corner, with the eventual showdown between the social worker and the Wadsworth clan turning into a surprisingly violent romp.

As weird as "The Baby" sounds from the description above, the movie gets even stranger up close and personal. A certain encounter between Baby and one of his sisters implies a behavior that is both shocking and deeply repulsive. Moreover, as time goes on we soon begin to suspect the actions of the angelic Ann Gentry. What are her motivations for the endless surprise visits to the Wadsworth house? The last social worker knew the boundaries of the job. Why can't Ann put her emotions in check? Even noticing Gentry's increasingly nosy behavior won't prepare you for the mind-shattering conclusion. That little jolt comes arcing out of the sky with the force of a thunderclap, throwing into confusion everything you thought you knew up to that point. Even better, once you watch the whole thing and remember the clues you will slap yourself on the forehead for not seeing where this one was going. Maybe it's the garish clothing or the hilarious birthday party for Baby where the décor and music is part psychedelic trip and part disco fever that prevents the viewer from keeping things in perspective. (This is 1973, remember, one of those awkward years between the hippies and "Saturday Night Fever." Yikes.)

The performances in "The Baby" are top notch. Roman believably plays the cynical matriarch of the clan, a woman so inured to the way things are that she will brook no upheavals to her family's stability from some high minded social worker. The actresses who play Alba and Germaine are two foxy gals decked out in huge hair and risqué '70's clothes. They play their parts to a T, as two nasty young ladies who know the score and are loyal to their mother up to the bitter end. Anjanette Comer does an adequate turn as Ann Gentry, conveying just the right amount of concern and hardheaded persistence over Baby's status in the Wadsworth house. She also makes the twist ending believable. Congratulations deservedly go to David Manzy in the role of Baby. This guy never utters one word in the entire picture and after awhile you really come to believe this is a twenty something year old guy who never developed past the infant stage.

The DVD doesn't really give us anything to stand up and shout about. "The Baby," perhaps more than most other films, really deserves a commentary track from some of the principal members of the cast and crew. I just want to know two things about this movie: what were you thinking and how in the heck did you manage to get a 'PG' rating for this film? This movie is so disturbing that I cringe a bit thinking about the kiddies going to see this one in the theater. If I had seen this as a youth I would have been permanently scarred. It took me years to get over the creepy commercials for the film "Magic"; I can only imagine what "The Baby" would have done to my sensibilities. In short, if you like strange, check out "The Baby."

Downright disturbing

I first saw this film as a child, when it was on the "Million Dollar Movie" one Sunday afternoon. The whole strange story and really unexpected plot twists, as well as its dark and eerie denouement, stayed with me for 25 years till I rented it and watched it again. And 25 years later, "The Baby" still packs a disturbing punch.

Firstly, the whole premise is unsettling. Without getting too much into a plot summary, suffice it to say that social worker Ann Gentry (played by Anjanette Comer) has to determine the Wadsworth family's eligibility for aid. The Wadsworth family consists of Momma (a middle-aged, rough-and-tough, cigarette-smoking, miniskirt-wearing woman played by the redoubtable Ruth Roman), two adult daughters named Alba and Germaine, and one son simply called "Baby" (played by David Manzy). Throughout the whole film, we never learn what Baby's real name is, or if he even has a real name.

In any case, Ann is horrified to find that Baby is actually a young man in his twenties who wears diapers, sleeps in a crib, sucks his thumb and doesn't walk or talk. According to his mother and two adult sisters, Baby was born severely retarded and so never was able to walk, talk or develop normally in any other way. However, as time goes on Ann becomes more and more convinced that Baby is not at all retarded, but rather is a normal young man whose development has been monstrously stifled by his sick family. She becomes determined to take him from his family and care for him herself, and soon finds herself in danger from Momma, Alba and Germaine, all of whom resent what they see as Ann's "butting in".

The second thing that makes this film disturbing is the evolution of Ann's character throughout the film. As the plot unfolds, the viewer begins to gain insight into Ann's true motivations and intentions. After a narrow escape from the clutches of Momma, Alba and Germaine, Ann actually succeeds in taking Baby from his family. Momma, Alba and Germaine trace him to Ann's house and go there, determined to get him back by any means necessary (packing a gun for this purpose). I won't give away the plot twist or ending, but suffice it to say that nice, sweet Ann turns the tables on Momma, Alba and Germaine in a rather...unexpected manner. And this unexpected turn of events will stick in your mind at least for weeks, or perhaps for years.

So, in conclusion, this is a thriller that's definitely worth watching. The acting is really good all around. Ruth Roman always turns in a solid performance, and in "The Baby" she takes on her role as big bad Momma with gusto (including beating the living crap out of a babysitter with a belt when she thinks that the sitter has been getting...uh, shall we say too friendly wtih Baby). The two women who play Alba and Germaine (unfortuantely I forget their names) also turn in excellent performances, particularly Alba, who seems to relish in "correcting" Baby with blunt instruments if he tries to do anything "bad" like walk or talk. And David Manzy steals the show as Baby. You truly find yourself pitying him, especially when it seems more and more apparent that he's a normal person who's never been allowed to develop normally. This is a well-done little film that will definitely unsettle you.

Bizarre-o...Wack-o...Weird-o...!

It's hard to believe this flick played in the theatres in the mid-70's and people actually thought they were seeing a HORROR FLICK! This seems more like an Experimental Art Film...INCREDIBLE non-the-less!

The Babysitter scene was truely twisted...MUST SEE for that, if nothing else!

=^..^=