When You Just Want To Have a Baby... "Friends With Kids"

Today's movie is: Friends With Kids.

Here's a romantic comedy...

Without the romance?!?

The plot:

A group of friends, 2 married couples and 2 perpetual singles, have been friends for ages.  However, as the married couples begin to have children, the friendship dynamic changes as family commitments rear their ugly head at the most inopportune times.  As the two singles realize, you can't have sex and children, the family unit poisons the sexual relationship...and it seems like divorced people have it right by only having to deal with kids part of the time.  These two decide that they will have a kid together, get the hard part of a relationship over, while they continue to look for their Mr/Mrs. Right.

What could possibly go wrong?

It is a fun, and interesting premise.  You have two married couples on the extremes: one is meant for family, the other couple's relationship the children are indeed a burden.  Then you have the singles who make it seem rather easy...at first...but then life and the baby complicate things.  Then what happens when/if Mr. or Mrs. Right never comes?

The actors involved do a great job.  I had seen 5 of the 6 in other movies and have enjoyed all of their work.  Amazingly, Jennifer Westfeldt turns out to be a Jack of All Trades with this film.  I've never watched any of her previous work, but this was her 3rd film that she wrote, the first that she directed, and she was also the star.

Well played ma'am, well played.


Taking a cue from many other great actor/director combos, while she has plenty to do, many of the laughs and best lines are divided amongst her co-stars.  She is not a prima donna by any means...or so it would seem to me.  Her leading man, Adam Scott plays his usual fun self.  When last I saw him in the movies, he was trying to save the day in Piranha. :)

The movie isn't gut-busting hilarious, nor is it the usual R-Rated Raunchfest.  The laughs and smiles are plentiful and they keep coming.  Eventually you are so entrenched in this group of friends that the laughs and tears are from genuinely caring, not just because of the line that was written.

Definitely worth a spin if you've not seen it.