FRIENDS WITH KIDS DVD (2012)
SYNOPSIS: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Jon Hamm star alongside Jennifer Westfeldt and Adam Scott in is a daring and hilarious ensemble comedy about a close-knit circle of friends whose lives change once they have kids. The last two singles in the group (Westfeldt and Scott) observe the effect that kids have had on their friends' relationships and wonder if there's a better way to make it work. When they decide to have a child together - and date other people, their unconventional 'experiment' leads everyone in the group to question the nature of friendship, family and, above all, true love. Also starring Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox and Edward Burns, Friends With Kids delivers the laughs and the heart from beginning to end!
MOVIE REVIEW:
“Friends With Kids” is like a cross between a raunchy Judd Apatow’s comedy and a rom-com except it has an unconventional message to say coming out from actress, writer and first-time director Jennifer Westfeldt.
The ensemble production tackles the unthinkable prospect of having a kid between two friends. No obligation, no romance just two individuals raising a child before one is too old to bear one and of course the freedom of continuing their romantic liaisons separately. Upon seeing their good friends getting hitched and having children, two single BFFs Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) and Jason (Adam Scott) make a pact to have a kid together. Surrounded by their married friends who are facing marriage and parental woes, Julie and Jason begins to realise their initial decision to have an offspring might have some impact on their relationship after all.
Westfeldt’s take on the subject of marriage and parenthood is smart, funny and occasionally painful to watch. Take for example, Julie and Jason’s best friends, Ben (Jon Hamm) and Missy (Kristen Wiig) whose marriage starts to turn sour after the birth of their son and we are talking about a couple who once had passionate sex on a train. The other set of married couple, Alex (Chris O’Dowd) and Leslie (Maya Rudolph) despite their frequent quarrels, nagging and provoking still stick to each other in the end. The exploration of contemporary married couples is painful to watch and I mean in a good way though it is far watchable than the relationship between Julie and Jason which starts to turn predictable by the third act.
Featuring none of the familiar A-listers, the cast members featured however are a bunch of familiar faces including Westfeldt’s real-life beau, Hamm, O’Dowd, Rudolph and Wigg from “Bridesmaids” and Scott from “Parks and Recreation”. All of them deliver shrewd performances especially Wigg in a seldom-seen dramatic role. The sexy “Transformers” babe, Megan Fox follows up with her appearance in the Apatow’s “This Is 40” as Maryjane, a broadway dancer who dated Jason and independent filmmaker Edward Burns turns up as a sturdy divorcee who dates Julie.
The indie production allows for gorgeous cinematography of New York instead of fancy greenscreen shots and for that you got to thank director of photography William Rexer. The laughs might not be that many if you are expecting a low-brow comedy, this is a talky romantic drama for adults and “Friends With Kids” is pretty refreshing.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Making Friends With Kids is an eight minutes making of special featuring interviews with the cast and some behind-the-scenes shots.
This is probably the first Ad-libs and Bloopers that showcase little child actors fumbling their lines.
Scene 42: Anatomy of a Gag compares the actual shooting with the written script.
MJ Rocks at Video Games shows us why Megan Fox is a much better player at Gears of Wars than her co-star Adam Scott.
Lastly, an eight minutes of Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary from Westfeldt and Hamm.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Shot on location in Manhattan, “Friends With Kids” features detailed and sharp images. The audio quality is decent enough for the dialogue based movie and offers nothing else except selective ambient effects.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
