“Friends with Kids” is that kind of very special movie.
On a superficial level, “Friends with Kids” follows the lives of 6 friends (2 couples and 2 singletons) as they maneuver the fraught-filled waters of early 30s coupledom. The cast is so full of quality that you would be hard-pressed to find a bad performance in the entire movie.
First off, let’s get the easy praise out of the way: “Friends with Kids” is beautifully written, directed and produced by the incomparable Jennifer Westfeldt. I had not previously experienced the package that is Jennifer Westfeldt (although “Ira and Abby” is now in my Netflix queue) but I knew early on into “Friends with Kids” that there was a woman at the helm of this movie. The situations, dialogues and characters resonated too deeply with me for it to be otherwise.
What I loved most about the movie was how real it felt to me. As a member of Generation X (or Y, they’re never really quite sure), I recognize the partnering-up, pairing-up and parenting-up frenzy that many of my friends are going through; as well as the anxieties of those who are “left behind”. But this movie doesn’t let any green grass sit unexamined. If you didn’t already know: marriage is messy, dating is messy, relationships are messy, children are messy, sex is messy, love is messy and life is messy.
Both situations, either being partnered or single, have benefits and drawbacks and this movie seamlessly (but lovingly) shines a soft light on all of it. What this means as a viewer is that you interact with all of the characters using the full range of emotions (joy, embarrassment, sadness, anger, amusement, humor, frustration, love) and consequently are very, very sad to see them leave when the movie is over.
Ultimately, it is a story about love for people who grew up on love stories, but are also grown-ups.
