Babes

Pregnant from a one-night-stand, Eden leans on her long-time best friend and mother of two, Dawn, to help guide her through her pregnancy and beyond, but as the demands of their lives start to pile up, their ride or die friendship is strained.

Eden is very happily a single woman living the single gal life in (Matt Berry voice) Ne-yew Yoark Cit-tay. It's fair to say that she's a little self-centered and selfish, but she really only has herself to watch out for.

FORESHADOWING!

But she and her best friend Dawn have been BFF all forever and shit, all throughout their various ups and downs and wacky misadventures, not to mention through Dawn's first child, and up to now, as she is pregnant with her second. But when they're out on their annual Thanksgiving tradition of having a huge dinner, then a movie, Dawn suddenly goes into labor, and their plans are ruined, as are everyone else's who happens to be present.

But Eden adapts...

After Dawn gives birth, Eden shows up at the hospital to celebrate, along with an ungodly amount of sushi. The hospital kicks her out, because that's crazy, and kind of gross too? I'm not really sure why, but the thought of specifically eating sushi in a hospital? It's just really gross, right?

So, anyway, loaded down with a ton of expensive sushi, Eden takes the subway home, and along the way she meets a man named Claude, who is fresh off his first minor role in a movie. The two have an intense meet-cute, during which, they eat the sushi together while riding on the New York subway, which is maybe the only place in the world where it might be more gross than a hospital to eat sushi.

High on wasabi and love, they hook up that night. Big time.

One month later, Eden is a little heart-broken after being absolutely ghosted by Claude, and Dawn has been struggling with being a new mom again, so they decide to have a relaxing New Year's Eve together. The plan is to get super drunk and high on shrooms. While tripping balls, Eden has a vision of herself pregnant. She takes a ton of pregnancy tests, and is horrified when they all come back positive. When she's sober again, she confirms her pregnancy, and sets about trying to locate Claude, knowing that he is the father of the child.

And it turns out...

Claude didn't ghost her, he actually choked on an almond soon after leaving Eden's place their night together, and died.

Hilarity ensues...

Eden decides to keep the baby, and naturally turns to Dawn for support, assuming that she'll be eager to help. Unforunately, Dawn and her husband Marty are having issues of their own. For instance, their oldest child is suddenly having issues with his potty training, and they're struggling to find both a nanny and a daycare so that they can return to work, basically all the usual young parents type of issues.

Seeing how stressed Dawn and Marty are, Eden decides to try out being a mom for the evening by babysitting one night, and she lets the kid watch The Omen. It's not the best decision, and a good example of what lies ahead for the rest of the film.

Conflicting schedules, work demands, the normal complications with being pregnant, married life, single life, broken sewer mains, hiring nannies and duolas, these kinds of normal life things begin to happen to them, and the strain of dealing with these issues causes fractures to begin to appear in their relationship. Dawn is feeling stretched between family and work, and grows resentful at Eden's refusal to acknowledge this. Eden, meanwhile, feeling abandoned, alone, and overwhelmed, tries to force herself into Dawn's life even more, even suggesting that she move in and have her baby in their house. This forces Dawn to set boundaries, and finally is forced to remind Eden that while they may be "family," she also has a family of her own that she has to prioritize. This sends Eden into a spiral, and the two part ways. But it all culminates in hilarity and reconciliation as when Eden finally gives birth to a baby girl, whom she names Claudette, Dawn is at her side.

In the end, Eden and Claudette meet up with Dawn and her family, and they all go to see the movie together that Claude had filmed a minor role for on the night he and Eden met. Afterwards, they happily part ways with the promise of seeing each other not just tomorrow, but on into a shared future between two families...

So, first off... yeah, Babes is not re-inventing any wheels here. Look at the poster. The film is exactly that. It's exactly that. If you can't handle that kind of thing, you should move on, because that poster is not lying to you, my friends. This movie is exactly as pictured. It's a pretty paint-by-numbers friendship-Rom-Com about the next stages in life for two best friends, and how they grow up and become adults with responsibilites. It's fair to say that it's just that and nothing else. In that way, it's as predictible as you might imagine, but still...

It's a good time.

I love Elana Glazer. Broad City was a fantastic show. If you liked that stuff, then good news, because she does what you expect her to do here, all her usual comedy wild girl things. But more importantly, she and Michelle Buteau are great together. They have that particular kind of seeming effortless and easy rhythm that you want in a pair of comedians goofballing around together. Their energy is the whole reason to see the movie.

One thing in particular that I really liked about this film is that it's not only a funny, smart, and loving film about female friendships, it doesn't create this by shitting on men. The women don't bond over how the guys can't commit, or don't listen, or help with the kids, or blah blah blah whatever, they're together because they love and support each other. That was nice, and that energy extends through the story. Their failings are where the drama comes from obviously, but that kind of highlights how everyone is dealing with their own stuff, but still they make an effort to support each other. That felt refreshingly real... or at least, "real" for a Rom-Com, sure, but still... the film manages a pretty decent balance between endearing and charming and gross humor and also believable drama.

So yeah, Babes isn't going to blow your minds with its innovations, it's just a cute and familiar good time that is made all the better by the leads' signature brands of comedy. It's a good choice for a lazy afternoon.