Friends With Kids
What do you do if time is ticking, you know you want kids but, looking at the evidence offered up by friends, would rather do it without the love of your life (who you haven’t met yet) as it seems to spell disaster for any iota of romance?
What do you do if time
is ticking, you know you want kids but, looking at the evidence offered up by
friends, would rather do it without the love of your life (who you haven’t met
yet) as it seems to spell disaster for any iota of romance? Easy; you find
a friend of the opposite sex who feels the same and go for it, leaving you free
to date who you like. Doh.
This is the central premise of comedy ensemble Friends with Kids, a pleasant enough if
a little self-important indie flick starring Jennifer Westfeld, who also wrote and directed, and a high-profile
cast including Hollywood’s favourite Irishman Chris O’Dowd and his Bridesmaids co-star Kristen Wigg, Mad Men’s Jon
Hamm (Westfeld’s boyfriend) and Megan
Fox.
The initial message (which the film then debunks in favour
of, er, true love amidst the everyday struggles of parenthood) is spread a tad
thick in parts but it’s also brutally honest. Every couple in a group of
friends that has chosen to spawn a child looks frazzled, hates each other and seems
to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, while the last remaining thirty-something
singles – lifelong friends ad exec Jason and charitable investment advisor
Julie – are so ecstatic they look like they may break into song as they sip
their cocktails in hip Manhattan bars.
Laboured messages aside, Friends With Kids is eminently watchable
and anyone with kids, or thinking about it, will perhaps, with a wry glance at
their other half, be able to spot themselves in the narrative –the scene in
which they all head off to a cabin in the mountains babies in tow, for a ‘fun’
skiing trip: the mix of kids causing havoc and too much booze, proves
disastrous; or the kids birthday party which resembles an afternoon of mutual
torture for all the adults involved.
No matter which way you swing it; kids change your life for
good and we know this. But what Westfeld seems to be saying is; it depends how
you deal with the huge changes it brings that matters and as hard work as it
can be it also bring moments full of magic. Cheesy, but there you have it. Oh,
and don’t worry, while everyone questions the true nature of love, friendship
and family, there are a few laughs too. Not belly laughs but they may make you
smile.
A useful footnote: don’t fret too much if you end up
frequently distracted staring at Westfeld’s rather odd face and wondering just
how much plastic surgery she has had – you’ll quickly catch up with the plot.
