Starring: Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wigg, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox, Edward Burns
Director: Jennifer Westfeldt
Genre: Comedy
Rating: B+
What do you do when you know you want kids, and the significant other, and all that comes with it, but see how miserable all of that has made your closest friends? This is the problem that two best friends, Jason (Scott) and Julie (Westfeldt) come across. In their mid-30s they've always been somewhat unsuccessful at dating and have watched as their married friends - the placid Alex (O'Dowd) and Lesliee (Rudolph) and the sex-obsessed Ben (Hamm) and Missy (Wigg) - settle down, have kids, and then appear to become completely miserable. So Jason and Julie come to a conclusion - the trick is to first have a baby, then find love, and decide that they should have a child.
What I think really helps make this movie so great is the fact that the cast are all friends - or more - and thus the chemistry between the group is really easy and fun - even when the shit is hitting the fan. The film feels real, although I could have done without the mentioning of Jason and Julie's parents as that awkwardness didn't really add anything (still felt real, just didn't feel necessary). I actually really loved how none of the characters seem to really have it together, even when they think they do, and each set of couples goes through a point when they think that they're better than their friends - and consequently find out that no, they really aren't. The one thing that I would have wanted from this film in terms of the cast is a bit more development into the two not-core couples; the dynamics between Rudolph and O'Dowd and Hamm and Wigg are great, and you just kind of want more of them at times. I also didn't really think that Edward Burns' character needed to be so perfect, it kind of made him out to be a bit of a Mary Sue which was disappointing given how great the rest of the cast was.
I do have to admit, though, that I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. To me, it kind of felt as though this film was trying to do something different - which I loved - but in the end caved into pressure and went the route that you expected. It was kind of a cop out, which was just disappointing. It's not that the ending was bad, per say, just that it wasn't what fit with the tone of the rest of the movie.
What do you do when you know you want kids, and the significant other, and all that comes with it, but see how miserable all of that has made your closest friends? This is the problem that two best friends, Jason (Scott) and Julie (Westfeldt) come across. In their mid-30s they've always been somewhat unsuccessful at dating and have watched as their married friends - the placid Alex (O'Dowd) and Lesliee (Rudolph) and the sex-obsessed Ben (Hamm) and Missy (Wigg) - settle down, have kids, and then appear to become completely miserable. So Jason and Julie come to a conclusion - the trick is to first have a baby, then find love, and decide that they should have a child.
What I think really helps make this movie so great is the fact that the cast are all friends - or more - and thus the chemistry between the group is really easy and fun - even when the shit is hitting the fan. The film feels real, although I could have done without the mentioning of Jason and Julie's parents as that awkwardness didn't really add anything (still felt real, just didn't feel necessary). I actually really loved how none of the characters seem to really have it together, even when they think they do, and each set of couples goes through a point when they think that they're better than their friends - and consequently find out that no, they really aren't. The one thing that I would have wanted from this film in terms of the cast is a bit more development into the two not-core couples; the dynamics between Rudolph and O'Dowd and Hamm and Wigg are great, and you just kind of want more of them at times. I also didn't really think that Edward Burns' character needed to be so perfect, it kind of made him out to be a bit of a Mary Sue which was disappointing given how great the rest of the cast was.
I do have to admit, though, that I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. To me, it kind of felt as though this film was trying to do something different - which I loved - but in the end caved into pressure and went the route that you expected. It was kind of a cop out, which was just disappointing. It's not that the ending was bad, per say, just that it wasn't what fit with the tone of the rest of the movie.
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