Bill Gibron is a veteran film critic from Tampa, Florida.If anyone can save the lagging, left for death fortunes of the Romantic Comedy, it's Jennifer Westfeldt. She's Woody Allen without the urban angst, smart in the ways of man/woman relationships without resorting to insensitive slapstick or dumbed-down designs. For her feature film directing debut, she rounds up a company of famous colleagues (Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Megan Fox, live-in partner John Hamm) and settles them within a simple story of...well, friends having children. Reminiscent of The Four Seasons and laced with the kind of acerbic wit and insight that made Stephen Sondheim's amazing musical Company a huge early '70s milestone, this is one amazing movie. Not for what it promises, mind you, but how it manages to avoid the stigmas and strictures of the genre to deliver a funny, heartfelt entertainment.
For longtime platonic pals Jason (Adam Scott) and Julie (Westfeldt), life is pretty good. They are successful and somewhat well off, quick-witted and surrounded by a circle of close, compliant friends. They include Missy (Wiig) and Ben (Hamm), Leslie (Rudolph) and Alex (Chris O'Dowd). When the latter pair announce the birth of their child, it sends everyone into self-examination mode. Missy and Ben begin to question their commitment (they are the old marrieds-with-children of the bunch), while Leslie and Alex wonder if they can handle the biological burden.
Feeling left out, Jason and Julie decide to share responsibility and have their own offspring. Agreeing that there will be no lingering relationship, he starts dating a sexy dancer (Fox), while she takes up with a solid single father (Ed Burns). Of course, when they discover the joys and heartache of raising a kid on their own, they begin to question their interpersonal choices. As their friends follow suit, everything is awash in questions, choices, and challenges.Like a cold slap in the face after a decade or more of single IQ experiences, Friends with Kids is a real romantic comedy -- meaning it is genuine in its sentiments and legitimate in its laughs. There is no stunt casting qualms or bows to bad taste (well...maybe one), and the entire production feels like an apology for everything that's come before. Westfeldt, arguing for her continuing fortunes behind the lens, balances out the needs of the narrative with the quirks of the actors she cast to turn everything into a combination character study and sitcom -- but in a good way. We get to know the ins and outs of Missy and Ben's seemingly volatile relationship, wonder if Leslie and Alex will ever find the rest their frantic personalities demand...and right in the middle is Jason and Julie, the cliched destined pairing that's anything but a stereotype.
Listen, any movie that can turn Megan Fox into a real comedy asset (and not just the first syllable of said term) earns a Maxim magazine amount of credit. Equally impressive is Burn, who functions as the ultimate find without becoming dull or dense. Instead, everyone is three dimensional and comprised of complications and contradictions. Indeed, Friends with Kids reinstates the concept of interpersonal problems to the RomCom mix. Before, all a script needed was a gimmick (day on the calendar, location on the globe), a pair of pretend paramours, and a MacBook full of meaningless, meat-headed dialogue. While everyone here speaks in cleverly crafted bon mots and one liners, they have the necessary intelligence to back them up.
It's all about treating the audience with respect and recognition. We are not some idiotic rabble who will digest just any moldy mediocrity you toss at us. If it proves anything, Friends with Kids confirms that the RomCom is not really dead. It's merely suffering from a dearth of actual artistry. Luckily, Jennifer Westfeldt is here with the cure.
