FRIENDS WITH KIDS

FRIENDS WITH KIDS
Written and Directed by Jennifer Westfeldt
Starring Jennifer Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Ed Burns and Megan Fox

I don’t know if you’ve heard this one before but indulge me a moment. Couples, no matter how much chemistry they have, be that physical or emotional, will inevitably crumble to pieces when they bring kids into their lives. For years now, love and intimacy have been seen as the killers of freedom and individuality. Now, its time for babies to step in and bring their special brand of devastation to the cornerstone of American society known as marriage. Enter new comedy, FRIENDS WITH KIDS, from first time director, Jennifer Westfeldt, to either capitalize on or continue to perpetuate this modern notion.

FRIENDS WITH KIDS is a sharp, savvy comedy, set in what seems like the only place this story could take place, New York City. Two perfectly plutonic friends, played by the charmingly neurotic Westfeldt and the just plain charming, Adam Scott, decide to have a baby together when they see how their friends’ relationships have deteriorated after having them. They both want kids but they don’t want the disaster that comes with having them. Just look at their examples! To their right, they have Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig. They used to have sex constantly but post-baby, they can barely look at each other. To their left, Maya Rudolph and Chris O’Dowd are drowning in diapers and despair. Can Westfeldt and Scott avoid the baby bomb that killed their friends? Though obvious counterpoints to play off of, this miniature BRIDESMAIDS reunion ensemble brings humanity to these characters, allowing them to be more real than they would have been in lesser hands. It may never get uproarious but Westfeldt provides her laughs with enough insight and heart to make them matter.

I know plenty of people who subscribe to this “Baby = Bad” theory and are putting off children specifically out of fear for what hell they will bring. That being said, I know just as many people who have children and who have become stronger families as a result. The truth of it is, and please keep in mind this is a truth spoken by someone who neither has children nor is in any position to have them anytime in the near future, that having children is difficult. It will place a strain on your relationship that may cause irreparable damage if you aren’t careful. If you survive the initial stress though, the strength derived from the experience is invaluable. And even though FRIENDS WITH KIDS is ripe with easy devices and tricks, Westfeldt (who incidentally wrote and starred in one one my favourite indies, KISSING JESSICA STEIN) is a clever enough writer to understand that even cliches have enough nuances of their own that separate them from the pack. From the way she takes care of her characters, you can tell this film is her baby.

BRIDESMAIDS

Written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo

Directed by Paul Feig

Starring Kriten Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd and Jon Hamm

Megan: You're your problem and you're also your solution.

For years now, the boys have been yukking it up at the movies for our enjoyment and they have been doing it as crassly as humanly possible. These male bonding pictures have relegated the girls to the background as nagging wives, naïve love interests and/or sexual throwaway characters. Well, not anymore. In BRIDESMAIDS, Kristen Wiig and her gaggle of gal pals kick the buddy genre hard in the nuts to prove that anything the boys can do, they can do better, and more often than not, in more gross a fashion. Girls being girls though, they are sure to bring a little heart to the table too.

Wiig, a co-writer on the project, is Annie, a single girl who is not at the best juncture in her life. Her bakery business fell flat; she has to live with the most irksome roommates imaginable (Matt Lucas and Rebel Wilson); and she has seemingly lost all faith that her prince will one day come, accepting instead to fall into the bed of man with whom she clearly has no future (Jon Hamm). Now, while she can certainly do worst than Hamm as far as friends with benefits go, her declining stock hits a new low when her oldest friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph, herself an old friend from Saturday Night Live), announces her engagement. Ordinarily this would be a joyous occasion but when you’re aging and single and your oldest partner in crime is leaving you to fend for yourself in the desolate desert that is dating, news like that takes on much grander implications.

Annie proceeds to buckle and break down amidst the pressure of putting together the perfect bridal parties and the prospect of losing her best friend to the other side. Fortunately, Wiig negotiates a meltdown like no other and she does so in BRIDSEMAIDS with great care, allowing viewers to truly see how complex a person can get the longer they are subjected to the games single people play. Of course, she is also backed up by a hilarious ensemble, most notably Rose Byrne as a classic “frenemy” and Melissa McCarthy as a big girl who isn’t afraid to cry (or take a dump in a sink for that matter). And while I was mildly disappointed to see the film affirm that true happiness cannot be achieved on one’s own, I was too busy laughing hysterically to care.