Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are two very funny women.

But not even their talents, nor those of some other high-profile actors, can save the rather pedestrian “Baby Mama.” While this comedy does have a few mild laughs, it mostly misfires, thanks to a script that is nowhere near the talent level of its cast.

Fey plays Kate, a successful businesswoman who believes she is finally ready to have a baby. Her plans are derailed when she discovers that she is infertile, forcing Kate to find an alternative plan to motherhood.

Kate goes to a surrogacy center, where she is matched with Angie (Poehler) – a dim-witted, working-class woman who is the exact opposite of Kate’s controlling personality.

The arrangement hits a different level when Angie leaves her boyfriend and arrives at Kate’s apartment looking for a place to crash.

Screenwriter and first-time director Michael McCullers is obviously going for a female “Odd Couple,” but the formula feels stale and wastes the obvious chemistry Fey and Poehler had as castmates on “Saturday Night Live.”

What does work are several subplots that display the immense talent depth of the cast of “Baby Mama.” Steve Martin nearly steals the movie as Kate’s eccentric hippy boss, and Sigourney Weaver is a welcome surprise as the owner of the fertility clinic.

It’s during those scenes that you can see McCullers has some talent as a writer (he did help write two “Austin Powers” films and “Undercover”). Still, I can’t help but wonder what “Baby Mama” could have been if someone like Fey stepped in and added her talents as a writer.

This was a film with material and a cast full of potential that I think Fey could have successfully tapped into. As it is, “Baby Mama” is nothing more than the final afterthought before Hollywood brings out the big guns for the summer movie season with the arrival of “Iron Man” on Friday.

DVD dandy of the week

This week’s dandy is “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (A-), one of the most visually original films in recent memory, and one that features just as much substance as style.

“Butterfly” is based on the true story of Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby. Bauby seemed to have everything he could ever want, but his world came crashing down when he suffered a stroke that completely paralyzed his body – with the exception of his left eye.

Despite his handicap, Bauby was still able to use his eye to blink his memoir – giving others a chance to feel his torment of being trapped inside a body that can no longer function.

“Diving Bell and the Butterfly” was a film that received a lot of critical acclaim and arthouse buzz, but the subject matter was something I wasn’t sure would interest me.

Fortunately, the film managed to greatly exceed my expectations, thanks in part to director Julian Schnabel. Here is a filmmaker not afraid to try something different, and his decision to film the majority of the movie from Bauby’s point of view after the stroke was nothing short of magnificent.

By seeing the world through this person, Schnabel captures Bauby’s isolation – letting the audience have a better understanding of what he went through while writing his memoirs.

It also serves as a way for Schnabel to take “Butterfly” out of the box – with dreamlike sequences that only emphasize how strong-willed Bauby was despite his paralysis.

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is rated PG-13 for nudity, sexual content and some language and is available on DVD.

— Micheal Compton – one of the more visually original sportswriter/movie reviewers in recent memory – can be reached for comment by e-mailing mcompton@bgdailynews.com.