Back-up Plan worked well for director Alan Poul

Debutant filmmaker Alan Poul found himself labelled as a producer of top-quality TV not a bad label to have,he readily admits but he had long desired to direct a film. He said Back-Up Plan appealed to him because beyond its appearance as a frothy,romantic comedy,he felt it had a certain edge. It isnt heavy,but it stays in the real world, he said.

The film is really romantic. I think its emotional,but what I like about Kate (Angelo,the screenwriter),is that shes not afraid to go at the humor in a way some people might think is crude. For instance,when women gather to talk privately about childbirth,the descriptions can get personal,and Angelo was able to capture the humor in those moments,Poul said. The Back-Up Plan stars Lopez as a single woman who feels she has waited too long for Mr. Right to come along,so she decides to have a baby on her own. Just as she finds out she is pregnant,along comes the man of her dreams in the form of actor Alex OLoughlin,and the duo must determine if they are right for each other and for raising a baby together.

The ways in which Zoe (Lopezs character) has set up obstacles to her happiness struck me as real and honest and thats what got to me about the movie, Poul said.
Lopez,who returns to movies after roughly three years during which she gave birth to twins,echoes Pouls thinking,telling Reuters she believed Angelo had a modern voice for Zoe and the movie was really funny and also touching.

Whether that combination leads to a career breakthrough for Poul and allows him to continue making movies depends,in large part,on weekend box-office results.
The Back-Up Plan faces stiff competition from new films The Losers and hold-overs such as Kick-Ass and comedy Death At A Funeral. But as Poul well knows,in Hollywood,anything can happen.