Though its hit-or-miss humor provokes few belly laughs, this surprisingly sentimental screwball comedy proves likable enough as a warm fable about fatherhood. The script, co-written by star Eddie Griffin, is entirely schematic in its presentation of parenthood as a life-changing event for its layabout protagonists. But the ensemble approach, varied characters and elaborate plot allow the movie to say a lot more about growing up than one might expect from what's ostensibly a crass urban comedy. Cheryl Dunye, who previously helmed the low-budget indies The Watermelon Woman and Stranger Inside, brings a light touch to the director's chair. She deftly juggles storylines and disparate tones without allowing the pace to lag. Though the characters are drawn too broadly to connect much on an intellectual level, the mostly competent, occasionally fine cast attacks the material with conviction. John Amos gets the best lines (and laughs) as curmudgeon Uncle Virgil, but he's only one among many performers who make My Baby's Daddy hard to love yet similarly hard to dislike.