Conception

Caught this terrific little movie at a film festival and wondered why can't Hollywood, with its huge budgets, manage to turn out something half this good.

Conception tackles a tricky subject with humor and warmth. In our baby obsessed culture, trying to conceive is on many people's minds. The script managed to find the humor in it and reveled in the small moments.

The cast was terrific. Great to see some television actors get to flex different muscles. The interactions felt genuine and real and touching. It's nice to watch a movie that manages to walk the line between comedy and being heartfelt without feeling overdone and treacly. Conception does this with style and grace.

I wonder why there aren't more smart, charming romantic comedies like Conception.

The movie is just so very well done. It is truly excellent. It's about what happens at conception. I am a prude and I went to see this movie at the Newport Beach Film Festival because Alan Tudyk is in this movie. In my opinion Alan usually steals every scene. In this movie everyone did a great job. I really loved Jonathan Silverman and Jennifer Finnigan all the couples had different situations and it was well balanced. There are many different situations in which people conceive. There were moments when I looked away during certain parts. I enjoyed all the stories because of the honesty that came through. The way this movie was edited was really well done. Alan Tudyk was great as always.

I left the theater very happy to have been able to see this movie. This is one of those little gems that is precious and hard to find. If you want to watch a hilariously funny, sexy romantic comedy this is the movie for you.

Saw this film with some friends at a film festival in Newport Beach, a few months ago. It was a pretty packed house and it was an adorable movie. The thing that stands out most is the chemistry between each of the couples, it was so real and believable - I loved that. That's always important to me as a viewer is if I can believe these two would be together? It was not exactly what I expected, as I was thinking it was going to be a bit of a raunchy film. It was adorable, genuine and very heart-felt. I will definitely be watching it again and cannot wait to check it out on DVD to catch some behind the scenes stuff. Luckily for me, I was able to check it out with the filmmakers and cast in attendance - which, for me, always makes the experience more enjoyable. In most cases, it doesn't necessarily mean you are going to enjoy the film more. For me, it did... I especially liked hearing how each of the "couples" scenes were shot in a day, on a tiny budget. It gives one hope that a budding filmmaker will be able to cast some big names in their tiny project... if the scripts right. And, luckily for this film, the script was right, I cannot stress how much I enjoyed it. Am I gushing? Whatever! Do yourself a favor and check it out, and make sure you check it out with a cuddle-buddy, as there will be some "ooh's and ahh's" within!

"Conception" is charming, cute, and sincere. The situations are realistic and relatable, and the characters are true ... and it hits every note perfectly. I won't summarize it here (it's pretty clear what the storyline is!), I'll give the filmmakers credit for finding new ways to surprise us, to keep the stories engaging, and to make the relationships, whether they're brand-new or established, realistic and sweet. And although you might think it's going to end in a very predictable way, it doesn't. The ending is more poignant than you might expect. It's certainly not a movie for kids, but certainly a good movie for a date (maybe not a first date!), or if you and the Mrs. (or Mr.) have a night without the kids. It's easy to understand why this was a festival success.

Jumping persistently between so many couples throughout the entire movie is a technique I've never really seen before, especially in how it so effectively sucks you in AND breaks most Hollywood conventions while still being relatable. Conception earns its R rating through edgy adult dialogue and sparse nudity without jumping onto the "shock value" bandwagon of tastelessness and pointless crudity.

This is a sweet movie at heart, and Stolberg's ability to navigate through a wide variety of characters that you quickly grow to love and understand without the slightest bit of confusion makes it quite a rare gem.

And, for any of us who know filmmaking- shooting it in ten days (at least that's what I read somewhere) with roughly ten locations (I think), one for each couple, is flat out remarkable- and it certainly doesn't hurt to have such an experienced, likable, recognizable cast filling out every single scene: it's not often (or ever) that every single face in a low-budget movie with so many characters can actually be recognized, let alone have been pulled from some of the most groundbreaking television (and some movies) of the last few years- though half of those cast are actually working on hot shows right now.

This isn't a cliché-ridden, formulaic romantic comedy where characters are forced to figure out how much they really love each other, then lose each other, then get back together in the end- it's hanging out with real people who subtly (if not sneakily) grow on you, straight through to a culmination that ties everything together in a very charming way.