Let's Ruin It with Babies

I was seriously misinformed when it came to my expectations of Let's Ruin it with Babies – but that's okay, the film was pretty good anyway.

Inspired by and based loosely on Kestrin Pantera's real life, Let's Ruin it with Babies is about a carefree bohemian woman named Channing as she comes of age and accepts adulthood.

Let's Ruin It With Babies thinks its plot summary is: "Channing has it all: a beautiful home, a rock star lifestyle, and a loving husband intent on ruining it all by knocking her up."

But it would be wrong. Yes, Channing and Chaz, her husband, are pretty cool cats. They own a swanky abode and have quirky cool dinner parties and talk about real hipster issues. They even own their own business, a super hip RVip Transportainment vehicle that combines drinking, karaoke singing, and driving – which they oh so relevantly funded through a crowd-sourcing site. But, back to the parties – at one especially tricked out party Chaz announces to their group of friends that they are no longer actively attempting not to get pregnant. Channing doesn't seem too sold on the idea – but it's what you're supposed to do, right? While on their cross-country road trip de festival, Channing mulls over her life and her decision to, you guessed it: ruin it with babies.

Admittedly, my first impressions of and reason for watching this film was pretty far off base. I thought this was a foreign film and expected the quirky perspective and sly humor that goes along with it. Note, the minds behind this film are about as far from 'quirky foreign' as they can get – being not just Californians but from the ancillary town of angels, aka Los Angeles. It's okay though, just means the film was a bit dryer and a lot more hipsterly.

As a film, Let's Ruin it with Babies is entertaining but slow with most of the narrative being filler and the brunt of the story being possibly told in thirty minutes or less if Pantera was more succinct. The filler scenes are engaging and slightly add to the plot; but more often than not have no implication or integration with the bigger picture and conclusion of the film. It seems as though there was a general feel for the direction of the story but that most of the dialogue was improvised – as it was slow and unaffected and didn't feel deliberate.Further the camera work is shaky, with lots of hand-held work and not much steadicam shots, indicative of an independent film. If you are okay with all of those things and that specific visual style ideal then Let's Ruin it with Babies will be more of a hit for you.

Even though the film is called Let's Ruin it with Babies, there is still an open market for making a fun comedic movie about the socially constructed pressure put on burgeoning adults to take the next step and pursue procreation. Instead what you get is a story about a woman coming to terms with taking the next step as an adult, and yes, ruining it with babies.

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Let's Ruin it With Babies concerns the mid-thirties couple of Channing and Chaz (writer/director Kestrin Pantera and her real-life husband Jonathan Grubb, respectively), who still cling on to their dreams of making their career hauling a large party bus across the United States for passersby to join in on fun, random karaoke nights. This is the kind of ridiculous dream you have in college before growing up and hopefully accepting some cushy job, maybe attending to the idea once more when you're in the middle of a dire midlife crisis. Chaz, for one, recognizes this pipedream and decides not to join his loving wife on her cross-country trek to try and see if this karaoke bus is a feasible idea, much to her dismay. Chaz, in turn, proposes the idea of settling down and having children, ruining what contentment they have come to build for themselves.

Channing sets out on the road with a few other friends, aboard an enormous party-bus, decked out with food, decorations, and a karaoke machine. She realizes she's getting too old for this, and this dream should've stayed a disjointed barrage of notes on a cocktail napkin or as a text between her and her friend or husband. However, Channing doesn't want to recognize this; she's far too absorbed in herself, not like a narcissist, but more like someone's who most prominent concern is her current state of satisfaction. On the road, she encounters numerous locals, breaks down, melts down, and becomes faced with her greatest enemy, which I don't believe needs another mention.

Let's Ruin it With Babies is so laidback and sunny that's it's difficult to come up with valid points of criticism, or worse, be burdened by them as we watch nuanced conversation take place. There's a great deal of fun to be had, simply watching Channing interact with many different people on what would've been a more ordinary day if she simply decided to stay home and unwind rather than embark on a trip through the United States in an oversized RV bus. The film has the kind of quality that Jay Gammill's Free Samples did, where actress Jess Weixler took over for her friend, working an ice-cream truck in the middle of a parking lot where it seemed everyone else in the world was moving in the right direction accept her, figuratively and literally. Free Samples and Let's Ruin it With Babies both charm because they have attitudes as nonchalant and relaxed as their lead characters and operate by juxtaposing the attitudes, increasing in pace and in progression depending on the moods of their characters.

Some of the film's strongest scenes take place when the karaoke bus breaks down and a mechanic is called to evaluate and repair the bus. The mechanic, played by Patrick Daniel, ostensibly appears like the offbeat stranger who comes in at the nick of time before turning into a totally different character than we expect. Yes, the scene contradicts the relaxed mood of Let's Ruin it With Babies, but operates in a way that also contradicts Channing's view of life by showing her the more unexpected side of life that comes into play when one makes unexpected decisions with their own life. It's a hilarious, while simultaneously frightening, band of scenes, but thus is Let's Ruin it With Babies, and thus is life.

Starring: Kestrin Pantera and Jonathan Grubb. Directed by: Kestrin Pantera.

So, where to start. This film was just a delightful surprise. I had no idea what to expect and was so happy I selected this film to watch. The acting was wonderful. Every one of the actors turned in a fabulous performance from top to bottom. As someone who teaches acting, I was struck by the truth of all of the characters.

And I loved the premise. It wasn't some simple road story. It was a carefully crafted story with some simple twists and turns. The dialogue was clean and concise, always driving toward the conclusion. I like that.

The little montages of editing that happened often in the film made me feel the warmth of the friendships. The editing was a high point for me.

Lastly, the RV was so much fun. As a Bay Area resident I wish I had seen this vehicle. I wonder if it had been to Burning Man.

I highly recommend this film. Congrats to the filmmaker.

This is a authentic & heartwarming film that sheds some much needed light on one of the many gray areas in life. The one where you're finally stable enough to fathom spawning but also finally fulfilled enough to enjoy the fruits of your life long labor (to this point) and celebrate without having to be responsible for human life... But the clock is ticking. Falling in love is the easy part and I think we've all seen enough movies about that. Charming and honest, this film is packed with obviously funny moments as well as subtle "chuckle to yourself" relatable moments that connect you to all of the characters in one way or another.. It's basically an adventure to babyland that doesn't hold back from addressing the real bummers we all face along the way, and manages to make them all seem less heavy through the ever refreshing "I've totally been there" moments. Regardless of if you have kids or not, I recommend checking this film out - it's a pleasure to watch and simply uplifting without being cheesy or sensationalized.

"Let's Ruin It With Babies" is the perfect title for this cheeky and sleek modern comedy from Kestrin Pantera, about a young woman with a perfect-looking hipster life -- a sweet husband, a cool house, great friends, and a kick ass career with a pop culture creative project (an all- comers-welcomed mobile karaoke RV) that's taking off on a great trajectory. It seems like she's got it all.

But while her husband is ready to drag her across the threshold into parenthood, she's not sure she's ready to go quietly; what follows is a road-movie/romantic comedy narrative that tests the connection between a likable young married couple as they work through their major life decision across the miles through a thick haze of karaoke and her road-trip party bus responsibilities.

The rich is cinematography a perfect complement to the ever-so-hip but entirely earnest lifestyle of its characters and their emotional immersion in their karaoke project. The fact that the RVIP Lounge is a real-life mobile karaoke RV that actually exists in the world, and that the fictional couple are its real-life proprietors who filmed the movie while on the road with said project, adds generously to its charm and their chemistry -- which makes the viewer all the more eager to see what will come of the couple's conundrum.

It's nice to see a romantic comedy that begins with a married couple already very much in love, and tackles a real and relevant issue for our culture, as more women face the parenthood vs. career decision and wait longer and longer to have children, or choose not to do it at all. If there is any criticism, it's that one might wish for more of the on board karaoke experience that the characters swear "changes peoples' lives!" but this is a minor squabble; for an indie it probably would have been cost prohibitive to actually license more pop music for such scenes, and in the end, the important thread is the lead character's connection to the view of the rest of her life. The end result is a very funny and emotionally aware film about the sometimes-conflicting realities of marriage and family.