Egg

I have to say this is one of the best conceived and acted films I have watched in a long time; it seems as if it might transfer very well to the stage if someone wanted to bother. What I must comment on is the classification of "comedy". Perhaps for singles or people that are disillusioned with relationships and parenthood, this might seem funny, but if you are a conscientious parent or in a willingly committed relationship, this was far from funny. Every single one of the characters were well-acted and very believable so that I saw very close similarities from my own social circle and the subject matter was very dark. I would classify this as "drama" and remove the "comedy" tag.

This movie started out with a happy couple, yes Tina was strong, which is what I like, as she told Don toward the end of the movie he was afraid of, which is true, I can say that because I've seen it. Before they even stepped into Tina's and Wayne's home Don had already made his mind up, and it never changed, Karen who thought that Tina was attacking her found out why as Tina spoke to her about her feelings, and what women, and men do, these things were too spot on for Karen. The two men were weak in this movie Wayne as he said changed his mind from before, which a person is aloud to do, but you can't be mad at Tina, because what happened previously was her doing what he wanted, because she loved him so, Kiki was weak needing someone to take care of her, believing that a married man would leave his wife for her, saying that everytime he gets ready to leave her she gets pregnant, she blamed her for that, but men will do that everytime so they can have their piece on the side, which is true of Don, he has to control Karen every chance he got. Tina fought back, which is something he didn't like, he wanted Tina to be Pretty and Submissive to Wayne as Karen was to him. His idea was to break up a strong woman from a loving, but weak man who got all of her. Tina never told Karen's secret, but as Karen and Don were leaving she did say some words that secured Karen's future with Don, she didn't want her to do, but after that Don gave, she was happy Tina did, even after Don came there and ruined her family life. Kiki on the other hand got a man who cared for her, because Don only cared about himself and no one else, which is super weak, which Karen and her were. Wayne at the end came to her art opening, with something they both wanted, after seeing her so she could see how the EGG turned out, he and the product of the EGG lefted. She tried to them through the crowd, but they were gone all because of the overbearing Don who broke them up out of spite.

This movie is self described as a comedy but there is nothing funny about this and it doesn't bring even the slightest smile to the topic of motherhood. It seems to want discourse but instead provides several different and divisive takes on motherhood. There is no effort of civility or common ground and the backstory or depth of characters is virtually nonexistent. The effect is four (and then five) adults whining and bickering amongst themselves about why their point of view is so superior that it should top all else. This is not funny; this is not a good film to promote dialogue. All it does it create tension and raise moral superiority in a place where more than one option happily exists.

Not worth the time. I watched 30 minutes and couldn't bear another second of it.

Greetings again from the darkness. In what would likely be more effective as a stage play than a film, director Marianna Palka (GOOD DICK, 2008) subjects us to first four, and then five adults, each participating in what is mostly a 90 minute exercise in passive-aggressive bickering. There are absolutely some moments of pure movie gold, and the premise is quite promising, but unfortunately the bulk of this movie experience is simply watching annoying people and listening to their irritating banter (courtesy of the first screenplay from Risa Mickenberg).

In defense, annoyance is the goal here. Former art school classmates Karen (Christina Hendricks) and Tina (Alysia Reiner) have arranged their first get-together in many years. Karen brings her wealthy snob husband Don (David Alan Basche, Ms. Reiner's real life husband) to Tina's bohemian loft which she shares with Wayne (Gbenga Akinnagbe). Karen is 8 months pregnant, Don is worried about his Cadillac in this neighborhood, Tina is a conceptual artist, and Wayne adamantly refuses to be defined by his work - of which he seems to have little.

Judging others seems to be the point of this little party, and as Karen calls giving birth "one of the most beautiful things in life", she has to stop every 5 minutes to pee and eat, and repeat the cycle - all while being unable to sit comfortably. Riffing on how decisions are made on whether to become a parent, and how contemporary gender roles are defined, an abundance of societal commentary leads to a never-ending soft core argument. The bombshell hits when Tina announces she and Wayne are having a baby via a surrogate. Things get really interesting when Kiki (Anna Camp), the surrogate, joins the group.

The wheels go flying off when Kiki reveals she has been in a 5 year relationship with a married man, and that man's wife is now pregnant with their 6th child. Kiki also talks about the 5 stages of womanhood ... each seeming to be in service to man. The conventions of motherhood, and contrasts in suburbia vs. bohemian lifestyles are a central theme here, but none of these folks are the type from which we can draw any inspiration or insight. They are self-centered, insecure types with each trying to prove their high level of enlightenment to the others.

Mostly it's 90 minutes of whiny women and whiny men, in what could have been a fascinating look at motherhood and the evolution of friendship between two women who chose different paths. There is a bitterness to the story and the characters, and uncomfortable discussions handled in such a way that the biting humor rarely hits its mark. Even the ending, which is totally believable, is unsatisfying given what we've been through with these characters.

This is an odd film about motherhood. Tina is a successful artist who invites her long time now-impregnant rival Karen, along with both their husbands, for a visit. The film tries to imitate the amazing "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf" (1968) but instead of having the complex, multi-layered and fascinating character of Martha, we get Tina, and instead of witty, absurd philocophical dialogue we get almost two hours of painful passive agressive behaviour that leads nowhere.

The characters never become real, and the plot quickly becomes a bore. It always seems like the plot is trying to get somewhere - but never does. That at least until the very end, when the film was finally abouy to get to a climax, only to end in a cliched way.

The film is not necessarily awful, though. There are some moments of joy and tension, even some pretty funny jokes. Sadly, they are not enough to make up for wierd narrative and the poorly written characters.