Stars: Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox and Edward Burns
Directed By: Jennifer Westfeldt
Written By: Jennifer Westfeldt
Produced By: Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Joshua Astrachan, Jake Kasdan, Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland
Distributor: Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions
Rating: R, for sexual content and language.
Running Time: Approximately 107 minutes
Website: www.friendswithkids.com
Budget: $8 million
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Release Date: March 9, 2012
Despite writing and starring in three distinct and truly original comedies that mine the complexities of modern relationships in the 21st century with varying degrees of success, Jennifer Westfeldt is probably best known to the public-at-large as the longtime live-in girlfriend of “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm — which is a shame because she’s quite a formidable talent in her own right.
In 2001, Westfeldt made quite the splash on the indie film scene with Kissing Jessica Stein, a film she co-wrote with co-star Heather Juergensen, and served as co-producer on. In Kissing, Westfeldt played the title character, a single, straight, successful NYC journalist on the hunt for “the one” who ends up romantically entangled with a bisexual woman (Juergensen) after answering her personal ad seeking a friend.
In 2006, Westfeldt wrote and executive produced Ira & Abby in which she co-starred opposite Chris Messina (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) as a young NYC couple who meet and marry way too fast and suffer the consequences when the whirlwind nature of their relationship takes a hit when reality and meddling in-laws enter the mix.
And now, in 2012, Westfeldt juggles many hats as writer-director-producer-star of Friends With Kids (not to be confused with last year’s Justin Timberlake/Mila Kunis sex comedy Friends With Benefits) in which she stars opposite Adam Scott (NBC’s “Parks and Recreation“) as longtime friends who make the bold decision to have a child with one another, yet keep their relationship platonic after witnessing how signing up for parenthood seemingly erodes the romance among their close-knit circle of married friends.
Thick as thieves since college, Julie (Westfeldt) and Jason (Scott) are the last singles among their circle and are as tight as friends can be: they trust one another completely, offer one another dating advice — solicited or not, and they live in the same rent-controlled apartment building in Manhattan. All of which makes them perfect for each other, of course. But they’re blissfully unaware, or in tall denial.
While we’re on the blissfully unaware tip, at the beginning of the film, Leslie (Maya Rudolph) and Alex (Chris O’Dowd) announce that they’re expecting their first child over dinner and vow to their friends that they’ll remain the same cool, fun people they’ve always been. Julie, Jason and company couldn’t be happier for them, until months later when they see they’re anything but the carefree couple they once were. Instead their life is harried, combative and pretty much devoid of romance. Ditto their other married friends, Missy (Kristen Wiig) and Ben (Jon Hamm), who couldn’t keep their hands off one another before taking the plunge into parenthood.
Determined to avoid a similar fate, Julie and Jason create their own family, freely date other people, and eventually fall for the likes of Edward Burns (subtle, winning) and Megan Fox (who’s got chops when given good material), respectively.
Then, as expected, things get awfully complicated when one-half of the platonic duo wants more than the other is willing to give.
Fresh off the critical and box office smash Bridesmaids, it’s great to see the quartet of Wiig, Rudolph, O’Dowd and Hamm (who’s also one of the film’s six credited producers), back together playing different characters. Rudolph, in particular, fires off some real zingers and is quite memorable as a harried mom trying to stay afloat. And her pairing with O’Dowd is quite effective as is the pairing of Wiig and Hamm. One minor complaint is that Wiig doesn’t have enough to do here, but it’s generous of her to take the backseat at a point in her career when she could be demanding to steer the ship every time out of the gate.
Westfeldt and Scott make for an interesting, albeit arbitrary on-screen coupling. Westfeldt, looking more and more like Lisa Kudrow’s slightly younger sister, probably gives her best performance to date here, and Scott brings unexpected dimension to a character that can be a real jerk at times.
Of the three on-screen examinations of modern love in the 21st century that Westfeldt has written and starred in, Friends With Kids ranks third overall (after the exceptionally funny Kissing and the little-seen, charming Ira & Abby). As observant and funny a movie as it is, there’s something lacking in the central relationship, you root for them despite knowing they‘ve seemingly found something approximating the real thing in their secondary couplings with Burns and Fox, especially Westfeldt’s Julie. In cases like this, staying true to the characters and their needs is more important than settling for the expected. However, the film’s last spoken line is a bold, inspired choice.
Grade: 3 stars (out of 5)
