July2012_MOVIE REVIEW
“Friends With Kids”
Friends With Kids is a movie about a group of friends who are at the stage in their lives where they want to have kids. Jason (Adam Scott) and Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) watch their friends struggle to raise children and maintain their romantic relationships with their partners.
Friends With Kids is a movie about a group of friends who are at the stage in their lives where they want to have kids. Jason (Adam Scott) and Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) watch their friends struggle to raise children and maintain their romantic relationships with their partners.
They decide to have a child together even though they are just best friends. In their minds they are better off than their friends. The child will not put a strain on their relationship because they are just ‘best friends’. Despite all this the child does change their friendship and causes a very predictable end.
The main event that ran throughout the movie was a little farfetched but matched the way Hollywood makes films. However the rest of the story and characters are down to earth and believable. They did a really good job at capturing the inner relationships of the characters. The messy parts of people’s relationships weren’t over exaggerated and it felt natural. In one couple the stress was bottled up until it overflowed. This conflict was made into a big scene but it still felt real. The good thing about this movie is that the characters grow and change with their life and kids, unlike most other films about family issues.
The feel of the movie directly stemmed from first time director and writer Jennifer Westfeldt. She also played the lead in her film alongside an A-star cast. Four out of the six leads had starred in Bridesmaids together. Ultimately this made the start of the film feel like a sequel where the bridesmaids got married and were about to have kids. Thankfully that feeling doesn’t last for too long.
The most annoying part of the movie was the timeline. It was in order but it would skip days then months and years without warning. The only way that you could tell that time had changed was by the age of the kids. At one stage they were celebrating a birthday, 5 minutes later it was their birthday again.
If you’re looking for a nice film about relationships and kids, this is the film for you . . . so long as you can stand the splash of Hollywood added to it.
Gemma Schuhmann
3 ½ / 5
The main event that ran throughout the movie was a little farfetched but matched the way Hollywood makes films. However the rest of the story and characters are down to earth and believable. They did a really good job at capturing the inner relationships of the characters. The messy parts of people’s relationships weren’t over exaggerated and it felt natural. In one couple the stress was bottled up until it overflowed. This conflict was made into a big scene but it still felt real. The good thing about this movie is that the characters grow and change with their life and kids, unlike most other films about family issues.
The feel of the movie directly stemmed from first time director and writer Jennifer Westfeldt. She also played the lead in her film alongside an A-star cast. Four out of the six leads had starred in Bridesmaids together. Ultimately this made the start of the film feel like a sequel where the bridesmaids got married and were about to have kids. Thankfully that feeling doesn’t last for too long.
The most annoying part of the movie was the timeline. It was in order but it would skip days then months and years without warning. The only way that you could tell that time had changed was by the age of the kids. At one stage they were celebrating a birthday, 5 minutes later it was their birthday again.
If you’re looking for a nice film about relationships and kids, this is the film for you . . . so long as you can stand the splash of Hollywood added to it.
Gemma Schuhmann
3 ½ / 5
