Oh, "Baby"!

Dumb laughs are easy to come by. Dumb characters are even easier. But when you get a movie that is so endearingly, goofily dumb as "Baby's day Out", you can't help but love it!

The plot is straight out of Cartoon Land, with a low bow in the Three Stooges' direction compliments of scripter John Hughes (surprise!). Three of the dimmest kidnappers in history (Mantegna, Pantoliano and Haley) make the mistake of kidnapping a rich couple's little baby, who turns out to be far more resourceful than all three of them combined. And a lot more ruthless.

During the course of the day, baby Bink (Warton and Warton) leads the dumb bad guys throughout the width and breadth of Chicago and leaves them all bruised, beaten, burnt, plummeted from innumerable high drops and otherwise humiliated ("we've had the living hell torn out of us by a baby," screams Mantegna at one point). And all the while, we're laughing.

It's nice to play dumb once in a while. And even nicer to witness it.

Hats off for "Baby's Day Out". If you like such laughs, it'll make your "Day".

8/10