(K)ein bisschen schwanger

"Labor Pains" is an office comedy about a woman who pretends to be pregnant in order to prevent getting fired and she starts believing it after she continues her lying.

The movie is enjoyable enough, with Lindsay Lohan handling her character mastefully, without overacting and nailing her comedy parts. The romance in this one is subtle and does feat in with the rest of the story.

And even though the plot is predictable, it is enjoyable and entertaining enough to keep the audience satisfied till the very ending.

The rest of the cast, finally, did a great job with their performances and aided their leading lady a lot.

Thea Clayhill (Lindsay Lohan) is the reckless secretary of the arrogant publisher Jerry Steinwald (Chris Parnell) in the Steinwald Publishing. When Jerry fires her for an accident with his beloved dog, Thea lies and tells that she is four-month pregnant. Thea lost his parents in a car accident and raises her younger sister Emma (Bridgit Mendler) alone and can not afford to lose her job. Jerry takes vacation to stay with his dog and his brother Nick Steinwald (Luke Kirby) assumes his position and promotes. Thea decides to fake her pregnancy for a couple of more days with the support of her friend Lisa (Cheryl Hines). However her life changes for better and Thea is promoted to editor by Nick and helps him to publish the unconventional book of Suzi Cavandish (Bonnie Somerville) about pregnancy. Nick and Thea fall in love for each other but Thea does not stop the farce despite the advices of Lisa until the day truth appears.

"Labor Pains" is flawed, silly and predictable; but it is also delightful, charming, and cute and I liked this film. I am a fan of the talented Lindsay Lohan and for me it is very difficult to associate her image of sweet and gorgeous actress to her personal life of drug addicted, scandals and paparazzi. In the movie, Lindsay Lohan is very beautiful and her situation faking a pregnancy is funny and I really found this movie very entertaining. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Meu Trabalho É um Parto" ("My Job Is a Labor")

In a bizarre change of pace, direct-to-video action kings Millennium Pictures made this strange little movie. The plot is ripped off from the French movie "The Closet" - in that film, a man pretended he was gay so he wouldn't get fired, and in this film, Lohan pretends she's pregnant so she won't lose her job. It still could have been funny, being able to go off in different directions, but it falls flat. It was obviously shot on a limited budget and hastily filmed. Lohan is badly photographed and seems to have been without makeup. (And her character doesn't come across as a likable person.) You get to see the shadows of camera equipment TWICE. There seems to be footage missing or that was not filmed - Lohan's boyfriend, for example, is introduced in the opening minutes, and is not seen again for a half hour! (And we never see her talking to him about her scheme.) It's also never explained why Lohan for the longest time keeps her sister in the dark about what she's doing. But the worst thing about the movie is that it's not very funny. It's surprisingly low-key, when it should have been zanier. I didn't laugh once, chuckle once, or even smile once at any of the script's situations and dialogue. Maybe I'm not the audience for this movie - it seems aimed at women - but I think its true audience will be as disappointed with this movie as I am.

It's not secret that Lindsey has had her bad days but she's actually the person who carries this movie. There are secondary actors who aren't bad either but with the script and lines, it's sometimes lacking.

While it is predictable and unrealistic there are moments where it's actually quite nice and witty. There's a Lamaze scene that I just can't get over.

If you can overlook it's flaws, it's a movie that you can enjoy.

Thea (Lindsay Lohan) has been dealt a bad hand in the game of life, recently. After her parents were killed in an auto crash, she was forced to quit college and take charge of her high school aged sister. Since she lives in the Los Angeles area, expenses are high and it is a struggle. Thea slaves away at a relatively low-paying job as a personal assistant to a neurotic publisher. Her only allies and confidants are an associate publisher, Lisa (Cheryl Hines) and a goofy boyfriend, Miles (Aaron Yoo). But, one day, the boss' cherished pooch has an accident and the publisher leaves town to take the doggy to a hotshot clinic for therapy. Blaming Thea, he tries to give her the axe for the canine's troubles. But, thinking quickly, Thea declares that she is pregnant and, according to law, an expectant mother can't be fired during the duration. Bossman leaves in a huff. Taking over is his younger brother, Nick (Luke Kirby) who is much better at making decisions about books and sales. He also recognizes that Thea has a talent for publishing and, due to her condition, will make an excellent choice for editing a new tome on pregnancy he wants to present. Thea gets a raise and a new assignment. But, will everything fall apart when the firm realizes she's not expecting? And, does Thea have "eyes" for her new boss? This was quite a pleasant little film, made more worthwhile by the appearances of Lohan and Hines. For all her bad publicity, Lohan is a genuinely comic performer, with a dose of innocence and sweetness lacking in many other actresses her age. She does fine work here and is a joy to watch. Hines, on the other hand, is excellent at black humor and she contributes a big helping of comic edginess. The rest of the cast, mostly unknowns, are very nice, too. The settings, costumes, and production values are average, as befits a low-budget flick. Especially lacking was money for a good hair stylist, for Lohan's tresses are a messy tangle. Nevertheless, this movie is a good way to relax and have some fun after work hours. Romcom fans, take note.