Babysplitters

Jeff Penaras (Danny Pudi) and Sarah Penaras (Emily Chang) are a married couple with differing opinions on having kids. They and their friends, Taylor Small and Don Small, come up with an unique plan to have a child.

This gets more creepy than funny. At first, Jeff and Sarah are not that appealing. It's like the PC argument at Jeff's work. It's a bit of anger, a bit of ridiculous, and a whole lot of could be funnier. The same goes for the baby plan. I get the comedic premise but it doesn't feel funny. Creepy may be too harsh of a term. It's definitely awkward but not a funny sort of awkward. Stretching out the sex scene does arrive at a place of awkward humor. In the end, it doesn't succeed as a comedy and that's all that matters.

This film takes a fascinating idea and explores it fully through all the twists and turns. You really don't know what will happen as the story grows. If you want to see a heartfelt comedy that's definitely NOT a standard rom-com, this is worth a watch. Seriously, almost every rom-com since Shakespeare is about mistaken identities. (Amelie, When Harry Met Sally, and Annie Hall are exceptions.) Although that can be hilarious, it's been used for hundreds of years. Here's something different.

I usually don't enjoy rom-com type stuff but this movie was hilarious.

I had never even heard of it but one of my friends sent me the IMDB link and I saw Danny Pudi was in it, and he was really great in Community and I enjoyed that type of humor, so I decided yes let's watch it. Well, I'm glad I did.

Was it cheesy and did it have a silver lining at the end? Yes indeed. Was it vulgar and over the top, with a ridiculous scenario that only crazy people would even think to participate in? Yes, definitely. I will also say it was the best 2 hours of my time spent this week, and although it was long, I found myself towards the end not wanting the shenanigans to end.

For people reviewing saying it wasn't good, they must not have been paying attention, because the humor is subtle but poignant, so if you aren't really paying attention you may not see it. A great example is when one of the couples complains about how all their friends just share pictures of their dumb babies over and over. They both agree that it's a waste of time and nobody wants to see them loll over their dumb baby. They then turn to their chihuahua and proceed to dote all over it while taking pictures for social media.

The ridiculous and culminating plot twists just heightened the laughter for me, and even the directing was well done as one scene clashes with the next in very good storytelling transition. You find yourself thinking the story is going one way, only to be lead back to the actual story in a completely unexpected way, and accompanied by real emotion for the characters. When they are in an awkward situation, I felt the awkwardness! When they are irritated you can feel it. When they are sad, I felt it too.

Was it a dumb comedy with a lot of tropes and stereotypes about sex and kids and parenting? Heck yes! It was also very funny and had a lot of emotion for a dumb comedy.

If you've liked any of Danny Pudi's other work you'd probably like this movie as well.

I gave this realistic movie about having children a higher score than the ordinary ones, because both I and my colleagues in my life have personally experienced it. For the sake of our careers, buying houses and cars, many of us ended up marrying late, and it actually created obstacles in terms of communication and the process of having children. In Taiwan, whether it's seeking divine intervention or using traditional Chinese medicine to boost fertility, or the various approaches depicted in this film from Western countries, it all tests whether both partners are willing to support each other through the next potentially helpful procedure. If you and your significant other are on this journey as well, I hope this film can give you reasons to support each other and put your minds at ease. Having kids is truly a blessing from above, and whether work goes well or not, it shouldn't let your marriage lose its warmth.

Wasn't sure what to expect when I started watching this but I was pleasantly surprised! Very funny, totally absurd story but enjoyable to watch and really cute at the end.. perfect weekend movie!!