L!fe Happens

It showed up on my Netflix watchlist after devouring Krysten Ritter's two seasons of highly entertaining Don't trust the B in apartment 23. I was looking for a light girly movie and L!fe happens delivered. I thought the story was surprisingly decent, and Krysten, Kate and even Rachel were pretty good in their limited roles. I recommend it, it was quite funny, girly, and for me at least a little thought-provoking about single mothers without being too drama and tears about it. And of course all the girls look gorgeous even with baby puke on them :) Nice little movie about friendship, plans not working out, motherhood and happy endings.

The title says it all, when precautions aren't taken and risks weren't evaluated, allowing the body to rule over the mind, and nine months later, life happens. As the premise goes, Kim (Krysten Ritter) decided to go ahead with her one night stand anyway when housemate and friend Deena (Kate Bosworth) took the last piece of latex to fuel her own carnal desires, and that lapse costs Kim dearly when she becomes mom to Baby Max (played by Connor and Zachary Ross). This becomes the comedic tale of single motherhood, friendship, romance and the likes, a pure chick flick that walks the path of one's horror story during a moment of indiscretion.

Kim certainly isn't cut out to being a mother, clearly without a proper support structure in place save for housemates Deena and Laura (Rachel Bilson), who between them juggle time to take care of Max in what would be reminiscent of Three Men and a Baby. But of course this time juggle wrecks havoc on every one's lives especially when they're at the crossroads of their individual profession, and having baby at home means less time outside for nights out,

Directed by Kat Coiro who co-wrote the story with Krysten Ritter, which they claim had a lot of their individual characters and traits put into the characters of Kim and Deena, Life Happens plays out the typical insecurities of the female, with the baby in it more for the gimmick. As the central character in which the film revolves around, Kim shows she's not all that perfect, willing to "disown" her child Max so that she could have a shot at establishing a new relationship with Nicolas (Geoff Stults) whom she met at a party, and learnt fleetingly of his disdain for kids. And seriously her character is not all that likable given that innate crutch to push Max to just about anyone to babysit, while she schemes to get laid, to put it crudely.

While the film also tried to show the prejudices faced by single mothers and the many challenges they have to conquer, the story throws in Deena as the blonde who gets all the fun, with a career that is taking of, and almost always in control over the relationships with the opposite sex. And the scene during the double date was one of the best as it exposes just about how close and chummy both Kim and Deena are, and yet fully understanding each other's flaws and amplifying them just to spite the other. Cat fight, someone?

The casting is a little bit strange and needed getting used to because each of them don't really look too comfortable in their roles. Krysten Ritter for the most parts looked like a dead ringer for Anne Hathaway, while Kate Bosworth struggles as the alpha-female Deena. Perhaps the most wasted of all characters here belonged to Rachel Wilson, who plays the bimbo with questionable careers that don't seem to last, present only to lend her star power, and to play up on her character's naivety during her reality show participation as America's Last Virgin. And with this being a chick flick, the male characters were nothing more than one dimensional caricatures mostly portrayed as perfect studs, or cads for not fulling understanding the plight of the woman.

Don't look toward this film for that silver bullet instructional material on how to bring up a baby. It had some elements underlying its point that parenting is a full time job made all the more difficult when there is no support from a spouse, and literally sapping life out of oneself in the care and development of another human being. It's almost similar in treatment to another single mom film titled Motherhood starring Uma Thurman, but this one had a lot more characters involved in raising the baby, and having a bevy of good looking casts in a comedy always helps.

Movie was good. But when you have an Aussie in the movie, actually use an Aussie. That guys accent is horrible!

L!fe Happens is the latest in a string of chick flicks that aspire to shirk the norms associated with the genre by being more "realistic" and "relatable", presenting life as it, well, happens instead of hitting us in the face with a shirtless Matthew McConaughey. Notice the subversive exclamation mark taking the place of the "i" in "life"? How clever! Doe-eyed Krysten Ritter, a quirky-cute girl in the Zooey Deschanel mould, plays the main character, Kim, and co-authors the screenplay with director Kat Coiro.

Kim and her housemate Deena (Bosworth) engage in a night of debauchery with a guy they each bring home, but lo and behold there's only one condom left, and Deena gets it. As a result, Kim gets pregnant and becomes a single mum, living with Deena and other housemate, the ditzy Laura. Kim juggles motherhood with a job as a dog-walker working under mean boss Francesca (Kristen Johnson), and inadvertently lies about her mummy status to Nicholas (Geoff Stults), a cute guy she meets. Hilarity and drama supposedly ensue.

Now wait a minute – forgive this reviewer if he's mistaken, but that sounds exactly like sticking to chick flick norms. The movie tries so hard to have a hip, indie feel that it slides ever so noticeably down the slippery slope into slickly-packaged, commercialised rom-com territory. You've got the free-wheeling heroine who is suddenly saddled with the responsibilities of single motherhood, the slightly bitchy best friend who also happens to be an advice columnist, the chain-smoking, wine-guzzling boss who treats the heroine like garbage, the hunky prospective love interest whom the heroine misleads and, last but not least, cute dogs.

Despite having something of a plot, the movie unravels rather aimlessly, like the cameraman is hanging around capturing stuff as they, well, happen. The audience gets inundated with inane pop music and the movie awkwardly lurches from comedy to drama. For example, Kim and Nicholas are in the middle of their requisite love scene when something, uh, happens – something that wouldn't be out of place in a gross-out Farrelly Brothers comedy. The filmmakers milk (you'll appreciate the pun after watching the scene) the inherently comedic moment for all the pathos it's worth – the couple argue, Kim stumbles out and drives home, confused, gets into a fight with Deena once she gets home and even gets an angsty bath complete with running mascara. All that's missing is Simple Plan in the background wailing "how could this happen to me?!" The characters are also paper thin, which is unfortunate as the film could have been infinitely better if we cared a little more about them. Admittedly, Ritter is a watchable leading lady and is plenty charming and likable as the protagonist, though one gets the impression she might be better as a slightly meaner character, like the one she now plays on TV in the sitcom Don't Trust the B--- in Apartment 23. The bitchy-best-friend archetype has been done to death, and done better than Kate Bosworth's ham-fisted attempt. The script also finds every excuse to put Rachel Bilson in skimpy outfits, and takes a stab at satire when her character joins a reality TV show where the last virgin standing wins. Justin Kirk does manage to be quite funny, even though the creepy, socially mal-adjusted character who develops an obsession with Deena has also been done to death.

To its credit, the movie did elicit a few chuckles, if only because the humour is so out of left field. When a non-sequitur hurtles out of the screen, it's a fairly pleasant surprise – while the premise and the characters seem tired and a little old, the jokes don't. For example, Kim gushingly compares Nicholas to a Greek statue, when Deena reminds her that they are typically not very well-endowed and Kim's mother-and-baby yoga classmate shows her with a wacky, disturbing children's book she's working on.

As hard as it wants to separate itself from the pack, L!fe Happens can't shake off the time-honoured chick flick conventions it carries around on its back like Kim's baby Max. Ironically, if it weren't trying so hard, maybe it could have worked. But alas, that's life for you.

This is a really nice film with some great female roles in it. While I'm not an expert on women (most men aren't), I thought this was a nice depiction of living with your friends in one home. Growing up, but still wanting someone to depend on. Being adult, but not taking responsibilities for your actions. We've all been there. Is it funny though? That depends on your sense of humor.

It's nice to see the girls having fun (and sorrow) with the trouble of life (or "l!fe" as spelled in the title). Great acting then and some nice story development help this movie be above average and if you let it, it will entertain you.