Friends with Kids (2012)

"Friends With Kids" is a typical rom-com/chick flick for the modern age. It features a modern twist on a relationship: two people who only love each other as friends decide to have a kid between them after seeing what the standard marriage-and-children debacle has done to their friends.The casting of dependable comic actors like Chris O'Dowd and Kristen Wiig makes you anticipate at least some sort of ensemble of memorable characters, or even memorable scenes with these actors, but the movie delivers none. They just fight constantly to make it abundantly clear why the main characters take a different route. It feels like a rip-off that you're stuck with Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt in a movie with O'Dowd and Wiig.Adam Scott is a good actor, but I wasn't sure how to take his turn as a serial womanizer who ends up with the surgically enhanced Megan Fox on his arm. He has a certain smarmy charm, but is he a ladykiller?And Westfeldt? Well, if you haven't heard of her (I hadn't) I don't think that's likely to change any time soon.The movie could have at least been an example of a filmic version of an alternative relationship, but then the ending bottles it in the most clichéd possible way. If you read the first paragraph of this review, you already guessed how it ends.Move along, nothing to see here.

I saw this because it stars most of the cast of Bridesmaids and Adam Smith (who is great on Parks & Recreation).I was shocked and offended by the old-school sexism of this movie. characters who don't feel the need to marry are referred to as an "affront". characters who don't want children are show to be mean and selfish.this is a swing back to pre-stonewall and pre-feminist times.this is why American are seen as provincial and homophobic-- because mainstream American culture IS provincial and homophobic. when films like this set out to define a "new normal" they disregard the fact that they are also defining a new abnormal.

Jason Fryman (Adam Scott) and Julie Keller (Jennifer Westfeldt) are best platonic friends. They always joke around and have a long history. They are the quintessential single New Yorkers. After four years, their friends Leslie (Maya Rudolph) and Alex (Chris O'Dowd) are living in Brooklyn with kids. Their other friends Missy (Kristen Wiig) and Ben (Jon Hamm) also have kids and everybody is fighting. Married with children seems to mean grumpy with responsibilities. Jason and Julie want kids but not the anger. So they decide to have a kid but not the relationship with each other. Jason is dating Mary Jane (Megan Fox), and Julie finds Kurt (Edward Burns). The question is how would they make their modern family work.There are some funny moments. The premise is set up for an alternative rom-com. While I applaud trying new approaches to a traditional genre, there are a lot more awkwardness than comedy. It is uncomfortable and I'm not sure how much truth is in this movie. It feels very fake. I want to like this more. I like the cast. I like some of the jokes. The most important aspect of a successful rom-com is the chemistry. The joy of most rom-coms is watching the development of the chemistry. In this one, they start off with assumed chemistry. Then the addition of two credible people into the relationship does interfere with the relationship. In general, the movie needs more time with the two leads falling in love by themselves without other people. The whole thing feels a little bit off.

The premise of the film seems interesting; two great friends in a platonic relationship who chose to have a child together while they both pursue genuine romance. The script was also decent. There were comedic moments and it showed the more realistic side of adult relationships. However, whether the actors were at fault or the characters were just not good enough, it was hard to care about what happened to them. The characters being portrayed all lacked charisma, making it difficult not to be apathetic. By the end of it I couldn't really care less about how their relationships turned out or how well they had parented the child. Overall it was an okay film to pass the time when there is little else to do, but I certainly wouldn't make any kind of effort to watch it. Very disappointing.