The Baby (1973)

Director: Ted Post

Starring: Anjanette Comer, Ruth Roman, Marianna Hill, Susanne Zenor, Tod Andrews, David Mooney

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Pray you don't learn the secret of... The Baby

Plot: A social worker who recently lost her husband investigates the strange Wadsworth family. The Wadsworths might not seem too unusual to hear about them at first - consisting of the mother, two grown daughters and the diaper-clad, bottle-sucking baby. The problem is, the baby is twenty-one years old.

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? Na na.

I don't know what to say. It's a unique premise, that's for sure. There's never been a character like Baby (Mooney) before that I'm aware of. It's all kinds of train wreck fucked up but once you get used it...well, it's still fucked up. His mother and sisters are nutters and there's something not right with the social worker. Her motives are clear in the last couple of minutes which is a nice payoff, albeit bizarre. But then, hey, you're watching a movie about an adult infant in diapers. Mommy's (Roman) motive for keeping Baby like that is interesting, too. The only real problem is the movie lasts too long.

Mommy

Sister Germaine

Sister Alba

Ann, the social worker

The babysitter WHO LETS BABY SUCKLE HER TEAT!

And, of course, Baby

Ann (the social worker played by Comer) kidnaps Baby for the final act and by the time that happens you're ready to go. What makes it worse is that Mommy and her daughters take FOREVER to look for Baby in Ann's house. The only saving grace is that Ann has plans for them and that's only in the final ten minutes which is the most exciting bit in the picture. Until then, scenes sometimes linger past their due date letting boredom set in. It's a bizarre and interesting movie but it can be difficult to finish.