I Don’t Know How She Does It

Multitasking moms aren’t given a fair shake in I Don’t Know How She Does It, a frenetic comedy that turns working parents into stars of what feels like a failed sitcom pilot.

Apparently, part of the goal is to celebrate the average contemporary mother who tries to balance work and family responsibilities in an age where it just doesn’t seem like there’s time for everything.

Good intentions perhaps, but that message becomes muddled as the film relies on clumsy slapstick gags and a lead character who seems more whiny and disorganized than truly heroic.

The mom in question is Kate (Sarah Jessica Parker), an executive for a Boston financial firm who spends every second of her free time trying to juggle responsibilities with her two small children and her husband (Greg Kinnear), who is on the verge of a job breakthrough.

Meanwhile, Kate’s new responsibilities at work include trying to secure a major account with a wealthy financier (Pierce Brosnan), causing her to travel to New York frequently and spend even more time away from her husband and kids. She realizes she must find the right balance in order to avoid putting a strain on her marriage and leaving the kids in a constant rotation between babysitters and grandparents.

The film relies heavily on narration and employs a “mockumentary” structure that seems like a lazy device but at least doesn’t take a simple men-are-pigs approach. There are a few amusing one-liners along the way, but the laughs aren’t consistent.

It’s one of those films where just about everyone on both sides of the camera has done better work elsewhere, including director Douglas McGrath (Emma) and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada), who based her script on a popular novel by British writer Allison Pearson.

The concept simply isn’t fresh and the execution is halfhearted, especially when it comes to the supposed lessons Kate learns about making time for family within a busy work schedule. When she resolves all of life’s conflicts in about five minutes and still winds up in a better spot than when she started, the film loses any meaningful real-world connection.

Rated PG-13, 89 minutes.