Friends with Kids (2011) Reviews

• Not great at all

  pij_ruleroftheworld2012-07-13

  *WARNING!! MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS* I just couldn't buy into this film at all. I really wanted to enjoy it because I like Adam Scott and I'm one of Chris O'Dowd's biggest fans. However, the script is weak and it all ends rather suddenly. I knew where it was going after about 20 minutes and I wasn't wrong. Despite liking Adam Scott as an actor, I really didn't like his character. There was something about him which made me want to punch him in the face. Jennifer Westfeldt is average in it and I had no urge at any point to punch her. The comedic talents of Chris O'Dowd are wasted which is a shame because he could have brought a lot more to the film. The same goes for Kristen Wiig; we never get to see her at her hilarious best. Megan Fox is beautiful as ever but rather irritating. The plot is thin and just lacked realism. It was also far too predictable and I spent most of the time guessing (usually correctly) what was about to happen. All in all, this film is poor but it could have been so much better if the actors had been put to better use.

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• Decent attempt but falls short

  pranay-mehrotra232012-10-05

  There isn't a plot really, the story is really predictable, even though it's different. But in fact, I did not really lose interest and rather felt my time passed by pretty well. The supporting stuff have given some wonderful performances, Edward Burns as the perfect man/potential-husband, and Megan Fox as the perfect girlfriend. But the lead pair could have done better. One thing that is horrible about the movie is the ending. One of the most horrible endings there could have been, the director tries to be unconventional but fails miserably. MISERABLY. If only the scene went differently I would actually be recommending this movie to those tired of old stuff.

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• A new genre, the anti-romantic comedy. Funny, and a frank antidote to romance

  smacarte2012-03-15

  Pickings are slim for grown-up movies and that's what this is. So bought my ticket and was not disappointed. It's a movie for grown-ups, sharp and funny. The thing is, there's barely a whisper of romance or spark of chemistry in the whole set-up. Much focus is on women's bodies, their breasts, their pelvic muscles, their kegel exercises. This kind of frankness is extended to the marital experience of the shared bathroom, frustration of shared chores, mom's post-pregnancy body and baby poo. Funny? Actually, yes. Light or romantic, not for a moment. The story didn't head in the direction I expected, given the title. It's not a sly comedy or satire of parenthood or how the experience changes a person or a couple. It's more like a story of Friends with Benefits. But the cast is great and it's not formulaic. On the whole, worthwhile. A number of scenes are quite good.

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• bad writing

  ramblr782012-08-17

  the actors were fine, but as the featured reviewer pointed out the story was just bad, didn't anyone tell Jennifer Westfeldt that no one cares about spoiled over privileged Manhattanites anymore, just arrogant idiots who think they are the reason why the world turns and that everyone looks up to them. the two main characters were so badly developed that there was no connection between them and the audience, basically a spoiled guy, who has a nice job and rich parents, who is friends with a spoiled girl, who decide rather spontaneously to have a baby together yet still date other people. when the (surprise) relationship doesn't work out the way that they expect, then the two separate and try to find happiness on their own terms, but alas discover that they can't live without each other so in the end they reunite as a traditional husband and wife couple. When a romantic comedy ends with the actresses last line being "I want you to fu*k the sh*t out of me" well, you know what kind of conclusion to make. I really can't be bothered to write a better review because the film just doesn't merit any more of my time to be wasted thinking about this trite filth.

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• A nice effort but it kind of caves in on itself.

  Rockwell_Cronenberg2011-12-12

  I hate when comedies try to be "real". For some reason a writer will feel that they know the secret to human beings that will totally connect with audiences and make them say, "Finally, someone gets it." Of course this never works and it always comes off as artificial and forced from the actors. Thankfully this doesn't happen so much here with Jennifer Westfeldt's directorial debut (she also wrote it). There are a few moments where this can slightly creep in, but for the most part it actually tackles things in a refreshing, honest way and I was surprised by that. Of course the premise (two thirtysomething best friends decide to stop waiting and have a kid together) is straight from the rom-com horsecrap handbook, but there are some turns along the way that I thought were surprisingly dark and genuine for something with such a cheap, hokey idea. There are some scenes that key into the stupidity of it all and I was impressed with how Westfeldt's script delved into that. Then again the film does end up being a pretty standard rom-com at the end of it all, so it kind of takes a jab at itself in the end. Westfeldt assembled a nice group of her actor friends to play out the parts, but unfortunately she didn't have the smarts to cast someone other than herself in the lead. Her co-lead Adam Scott and the supporting cast are all fantastic here, in particular Jon Hamm who steals the entire movie as far as I'm concerned, but the director herself is a very cold and robotic actor. It was hard to feel anything for her or her dynamic with Scott when I couldn't even buy her as a real person. Overall though, this is a solid film of it's type with slightly better writing, a great cast for the most part and unfortunately one god awful ending.

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