, the last time we saw the title character he had returned from Baby Corp., reverting back to the regular infant form of Theodor “Ted” Templeton, Jr. Now, many years later, according to his now-adult narrator big brother Tim the two have grown apart: Ted keeps busy as a hedge fund CEO and Tim, a stay-at-home dad to two young daughters, is married to Eva Longoria’s professional bread-baker, Carol.
But when infant Tabitha reveals that she is, in fact, a secret agent for Baby Corp., she reunites her dad and uncle with a hit of age-reversing formula in a bid to take down diabolical Dr. Irwin Armstrong , who’s intent on launching a worldwide baby revolution that would see the mass elimination of parents.
While the original film, loosely informed by the Marla Frazee picture books, had some poignant things to say about family dynamics — including a tender twist of a closing plot point — the follow-up haphazardly tosses in obligatory moments of ostensible heart without bothering to earn a genuine emotional response. In their absence, and having chosen to discard the throwback visual style that helped lend the first film a nostalgic edge, the sequel can’t help but feel blandly generic by comparison.
Yet another opportunity feels like it has been missed in the area of casting. Where the concept of Baldwin’s authoritative voice emanating from the mouth of a babe gave the first picture its instant comedy cache, the perkier Sedaris, while always a welcome presence, doesn’t possess the sort of deeper, unmistakably adult register of, say, a Whoopi Goldberg or Christine Baranski.