Babes

The about to give birth "Dawn" (Michelle Buteau) is married to the perfectly manscaped "Marty" (Hasan Minhaj) and is best friends with "Eden" (Ilana Glazer) who is keen on having a baby but so far lacks a suitable sperm donor. That all changes, though, when she encounters the charming "Claude" (Stephan James) on the train and, thinking her period is sure fire protection against getting pregnant, they have some fun. She is smitten, but he disappears without a trace and she just chalks it up to experience. A few months later, though, she gets quite a shock and what now ensues sees the friendship she has with "Dawn" quite seriously tested, yada yada. There's nothing new to this at all, and after the first twenty minutes of serious over-acting and a scene where a waiter concerned that the amniotic fluid leaking over the floor of his restaurant might not be that hygienic - and it designated a "woman hater", the stall was set out for this frankly quite puerile attempt at comedy. It's structured just as if it's a couple episodes of a mediocre sitcom interspersed by a stand-up routine style narrative from writer Glazer that rehashes a tired girl-power mentality that stopped being funny thirty years ago. I didn't care if their friendship worked or didn't: there's no effort to develop the characters and frankly I'm not surprised "Claude" took an early bath from these proceedings. I'm not really a fan of these buddy-comedies that take a relationship that supposedly works, break it, then try to put "Humpty" together again for the sake of an ending we could all see from space, and this is another off a conveyor belt completely devoid of originality.

How disappointing it is when you see a movie that you were looking forward to only to walk away unimpressed, if not largely disappointed. So it is with director Pamela Adlon's debut feature, a comedy-drama about the wild and crazy relationship between two lifelong thirtysomething New York BFFs (Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau) who share the experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood while struggling to maintain the kind of free-spirited friendship they had before becoming mothers. The narrative consists of a series of vignettes - some outrageous, some touching, some serious - involving various aspects of their connection, their individual lives and their interactions with others. Unfortunately, these episodes are wildly inconsistent, regardless of their nature. Some work well (especially, surprisingly enough, those that get unapologetically down and dirty with unbridled raunchy humor), but most others fall stunningly flat for a variety of reasons. The biggest problem here is the writing, which frequently tries far too hard to make the material work. Some segments simply aren't funny, relying on excessive exhausting mugging and overacting to win over audience members and unsuccessfully persuade them otherwise. Others are utterly preposterous and implausible (despite trying to come across as "zany" or "outrageous"), lacking credibility in terms of plot devices, character development and story flow. And others still are just plain inauthentic, particularly when driven by the strained chemistry between the two often-immature leads, whose supposed bond simply isn't convincing. What's more, when the film unsuccessfully tries to turn serious, scenes that are supposed to move and touch viewers don't work, because the film doesn't do enough to engender sufficient interest in the protagonists, their challenges or their relationship with one another. To its credit, the film features some fine performances by supporting cast members (John Carroll Lynch, Stephan James, Elena Ouspenskaia), but the leads grow progressively tiresome, especially the longer the movie drones on. In short, "Babes" is a big misfire that fails to deliver despite a few modest laughs along the way. Best bet for this one? Wait for it to come to streaming.

The brainchild of Pamela Adlon and Ilana Glazer, is a comedy that tackles the messy realities of female friendship and motherhood. Glazer shines as Eden, a free-spirited yoga instructor whose life takes a sharp turn when her best friend Dawn (Michelle Buteau) becomes a mom of two, and Eden herself gets pregnant from a one-night stand.

The film's strength lies in its unflinching honesty. It doesn't shy away from the gross bodily fluids, sleep deprivation, and emotional turmoil that come with pregnancy and early parenthood.

However, where Babes stumbles a bit is in Glazer's signature delivery. While her brand of in-your-face humor perfectly captured the wild energy of Broad City, it can feel a tad repetitive here. Jokes that landed big on television lose some punch on the big screen, and the constant barrage of profanity and awkward bodily functions can become tiresome after a while.

Buteau serves as a fantastic counterpoint. Her portrayal of the overwhelmed yet fiercely loving Dawn provides a much-needed grounding force. The chemistry between the two leads is undeniable, but the film tends to have a few plot holes and shift in time that forces you put together some of the missing pieces.

I really liked this! This movie had me laughing throughout, shocked at times and crying by the end, I'm learning to not always trust the ratings on here, the movie is not for everyone. It's definitely for the Mothers, Aunties and Best friends, might get too real for men who aren't Dads. I can relate to the relationship between the women juggling their conflicting struggles. They showed the loneliness that comes with being a parent of multiple kids and a lot of the more real parts of pregnancy and parenting that we don't often see in films or shows.

The movie was funny, witty, charming and unpredictable.

Ilana Glazer's Broad City spunk was great to see again, coupled with Michelle Buteau's crack up personality. The supporting cast was super complimentary.

The first few jokes were predictable, like the wet seat gag, which was sooo obvious. It felt like it dragged on too long. However, after that the humor was better, great even. It's a movie that rewards you the longer you watch.

Despite the rough start, the funny scenes made the movie for me. I especially liked the twins, the omen bedroom scene, and the big needle scene-my favorite part. There's some profanity and raunchy comedy, which might bother some, but I actually enjoyed it. I say that 'cause the movie deals with themes of pregnancy, sisterhood, and family-the beautiful and difficult aspects, and their impact on mental health. I think some people might watch it for those themes and not like the humor, but I felt the two elements worked well together, making it appealing to different audiences. It reminded me of "Scrambled" from earlier this year, which more people should have seen.

The movie is quite messy and chaotic, which led to some unexpected good scenes like the random plumbing issues. So I liked that chaos. It was strange there wasn't a nurse to help her to the 4th floor, though. I liked seeing Stephan James from "Beacon 23" and the doctor provided great comedic relief.

The chemistry didn't pull you in like the greatest girl-mance or romance ever, but the conversations felt real. The characters felt like actual friends. It didn't have the strongest start, but the movie gets better as it goes, and I'd recommend it. If you like this, you should check out "Scrambled" too.