REVIEW: Friends with Kids

Friends with Kids is an ensemble film that calls itself a comedy when it's really a drama. Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) wrote, directed and stars in the film about two friends who decide to have a child together after seeing how it destroys the romance and passion in their married friends' lives. Their reasoning is that they can have the best of both worlds- a child with someone they care about, plenty of time to themselves with only 50% custody, and they can still have romance when they meet that "special someone." If you've ever seen a romantic film you can probably guess where this story is headed. And you will probably be let down by how formulaic it is.

Westfeldt chose to star in the film, but her portrayal of Julie is entirely off-putting. She speaks in a strange whiny, breathy tone of voice that is irritating to listen to for 100 minutes straight. The film does have strong supporting cast. Adam Scott plays Jason, Julie's friend and father of her child. He plays the "charming womanizer" role very well. Kristen Wiig, John Hamm, Maya Rudolph and Chris O'dowd bring their comedic chops as Jason and Julie's married friends with children.



The problem was that the TV spots for the film claim that the four of them were as funny as they were in Bridesmaids, and that just isn't true. They were obviously hoping this film could piggyback on the success of Bridesmaids, when it's a much more dramatic film. As I walked out of the theater, I heard several people saying they were disappointed because it wasn't nearly as funny as Bridesmaids or it was a "different kind of comedy."

I'm torn. I want to suggest seeing Friends with Kids in the theater just to support independent film but the truth is, it's mediocre at best. Despite a few good performances, it's just too predictable, and not as funny as it claims to be. It's a good movie for a girl's night in, best viewed after 2-3 glasses of wine.