We’ve seen the formula before: woman wants baby, woman finds out she can’t have baby, woman goes to extremes to have baby. Following on the heels of Knocked Up and Baby Mama, director Eric Styles goes the distance with Miss Conception. But like a first trimester ultrasound, it’s often hard to get a clear picture of what this romantic comedy is trying to tell us.

Heather Graham plays Georgina Scott, a nearly neurotic 33-year-old Brit who owns a construction company and wants a baby. And she wants it now. Trouble is, her filmmaker boyfriend Zak (Tom Ellis) isn’t ready to be a daddy and won’t shed his condoms. They fight and he flees to fulfill his life’s work--make a “great” documentary. Thus our hapless heroine slips off the mommy track and onto the roller coaster ride endured by so many career women who want to be with child: she is forced to settle for jerks or sperm banks to become a mommy.

Supported by BFF lawyer and confidant Clem (Mia Kirshner), Georgina goes to a fertility clinic only to discover more bad news: hereditary premature menopause has left her with one lone unfertilized egg. To make matters worse--and to give new meaning to the term ticking biological clock--she only has a few days to fertilize her single egg. This shifts Miss Conception into the high gear of comedic high jinks as Georgina pulls out all the stops to find a prospective baby daddy. It’s also where the movie often descends into hackneyed silliness. Georgina wants a baby so bad she’s willing to get sperm from anyone--resorting to Internet donors, night clubbers, a love-struck coworker, funeral-goers…she even rents out her apartment to find someone to shag or, as the Brits so politely put it, “make the beast.”

Still, there are some funny moments that make Miss Conception worth watching. Like when Georgina strips camp pal Justin (Orlando Seale) down to his knickers to have sex with him. Or when Brian (Will Mellor), the eager construction guy, is seductively propositioned by Georgina in her office. “Women have needs, and my needs require tending to,” exclaims a desperate Georgina. With an impish grin, our hard-hat stud agrees to “tend to” Georgina only to discover he’s part of a date-planner schedule of clinical sperm donors. And kudos to Vivienne Moore, who plays Georgina’s mother, a woman who exemplifies every English daughter’s dream of a loving caring mum.

The film also adroitly handles the camaraderie that women seek and depend on in times of emotional upheaval. No better exemplified with light-hearted comedic touches than Georgina’s close relationship with Clem, who exclaims upon hearing of Georgina’s bad news from the good doctor, “Bye-bye baby, hello mustache.” Clem’s madcap schemes and lifestyle are often hysterically over the top as she proposes one ludicrous idea after another to solve her best friend’s problem. Yet, as Georgina’s clock ticks away, Clem’s outlandish ideas seem to click and Georgina reluctantly goes along with each new zany proposal. Clem initially loses her cool because chocolate seems to be blocking her chakras. She’s the type of girl who lives in Notting Hill and has recently discovered Kabala and a Buddhist teacher to whom she’s probably paid thousands of pounds. She’s also had her interior designer fill her apartment with pricey Buddhist artifacts, things she’ll get bored with when she moves onto the next thing. While initially irritating and a bit of a control freak, Clem’s role blossoms toward the end of the movie as her relationship with Georgina grows beyond the stereotypical best friend and lawyer to trusted confidant with added layers of simpatico bonding.

Miss Conception also tries to speak to men in some way. While addressing their well-known fear of commitment, the film acknowledges that a lot of men are asking themselves when they should have a child and with whom.

Overall, the English accents are convincing and the acting is solid with noteworthy performances by Graham, Kirshner and the skillfully chosen cast. As a light-hearted comedy with a heavy-hearted message, Miss Conception doesn’t miss its target. Though one wonders if sans some of the goofy humor, the film would have been just a bit more engaging.

Miss Conception is now playing in limited release.

Watch the trailer now at youtube.com/watch?v=udA2z5fyjSo.