“Friends with Kids” begins with the ubiquitous sound of the way we live now: a cellphone ring.
It’s 4:18 a.m. and a woman calls a man, asking how his date went. Their chatter is so easy, so nonthreatening, they could be sister and brother. But they’re friends — just friends. They get along famously, but they’re not sexually attracted to each other. This means, in romantic comedy convention, that they’ll end up together by the end of the film.
“Friends with Kids,” though, is anything but conventional. It’s a strangely old-fashioned romantic picture. But it feels as the same time fresher than anything like it onscreen, including last year’s “Bridesmaids” — and a handful of the cast of that hit reappear here, including Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd and Jon Hamm.
| On screen |
| ‘Friends with Kids’ |
| 3.5 out of 4 stars |
| Stars: Jennifer Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Jon Hamm |
| Director: Jennifer Westfeldt |
| Rated: R for sexual content and language |
| Running time: 107 minutes |
But they’re not the stars. Jennifer Westfeldt, making her directorial debut, and “Parks & Rec’s” Adam Scott are. They might seem an unlikely leading couple — they’re an unlikely couple, period.
And Westfeldt, who wrote this and the acclaimed “Kissing Jessica Stein,” is confident enough to give her smaller players, including her partner, Hamm, some of the best lines. But the dialogue here is so sharp, there are plenty of good lines to go around. “He’s gorgeous,” Rudolph tells Westfeldt of a guy she wants to set her up with. “He’s a criminal,” Westfeldt responds. “White collar,” Rudolph quickly responds.
Julie (Westfeldt) and Jason (Scott) are the only singletons left among their group of friends. The rest are married and, as the movie progresses, becoming parents. Julie and Jason would like children, too — so why not have one together? Watching their friends’ marriages tested by the stress — even trauma — of parenthood, they think they can do better: Leave the romance — and so the disappointment — out of the equation.
Nothing is ever so uncomplicated, though. And while you might think you know exactly where this is headed, there are satisfying surprises to be had. The talented and hilarious Wiig is underused here, but the rest of the cast make their mark. This is a film that understands modern life — which means it questions it as much as it embraces it. It’s a funny film, and a terribly romantic one, but above all, it oozes intelligence. But it’s not any less entertaining for that.
“Bridesmaids” gave us a laugh-out-loud modern comedy for women. With “Friends with Kids,” Westfeldt has given us — for the first time in a while — a romantic comedy for adults.
