If Bridesmaids went down like double fisting a beer and a glass of champagne, Friends with Kids was like sipping on a glass of vino. Now in another world, it would seem illogical to compare the two, but by virtue of having nearly the same casts, it's inevitable (was Rose Byrne too busy to accept the Megan Fox role?).
Jason and Julie (Adam Scott and writer/director Jennifer Westfeldt) are two best pals dontcha know because they call each other at 4:18 in the morning to indulge Julie's obsession with death hypotheticals ("Would you rather die by shark or alligator?"). This scene is straight out of the pilot episode of WIll and Grace, and, in fact, Jason and Julie's relationship feels a whole lot like our favorite sitcom upper west siders: they're friends since college, know every detail of each other's lives, and even live in the same building. Oh, but they're both breeders.
They also share the same group of friends: Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig pair up as a once sex addicted couple whose relationship nosedives with the onset of kids. Brooklyn parents Chris O'Dowd and Maya Rudolph relationship is on firmer ground, but we see the messiness of parenting overwhelm them.
Watching the way kids change these folk justifiably terrifies Jason and Julie. They both really would love some mini-mes, but kids ruin marriages! If only you could meet your special someone with baby accessory already in tow. Plus, Julie feels like she's losing all the sand from her hourglass baby-making figure. What are these besties to do? Make a baby and share custody!
While this premise has a decidedly millenial hook, it's also clear that it's a film content to stay in familiar rom com territory, from When Harry Met Sally to Knocked Up. It's essentially about two friends who, for whatever reason, can't see that they're perfect for each other, but hold out for an impossible ideal.
Enter Mary Jane (Megan Fox) and Kurt (Edward Burns), though they might as well both be named Mary Sue as they both exist as pure wish fulfillment for our protagonists. Mary Jane is hot, talented (she headlines Chicago...and not as a celebrity stunt cast!), unapologetically independent, and apparently only interested in video games and sex (oh, and snowboarding). Kurt is a tall, well-endowed, consummate gentleman.
The plot crescendos to a scene around a vacation house dinner table where gloves come off and Harry Potter replaces the wine with veritaserum. It reminds us that despite having some raunchy trappings (in depth analysis of Julie's post-baby vagina), this is a movie about adults for adults. Kristen Wiig is simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking while barely speaking, while Megan Fox is refreshingly cast in a window dressing role that plays to her strengths.
Adam Scott, who I'm used to as the adorably nerdy Ben from Parks and Rec, is predictably adorable here, but with a douchy edge (he repeatedly refers to Julie as "doll"). Jennifer Westfeldt is not quite able to shoulder the emotional burden of the film, especially with a supporting cast strong enough to crowd her out, but there is a laidback naturalism to her measured performance.
While the film certainly taps into a growing American anxiety about the pitfalls of parenthood (are we less happy after kids?), those concerns are sidelined as we meander towards a predictable, though raunchily articulated, conclusion.
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