Parents' Guide to Friends with Kids

Let's start by saying that FRIENDS WITH KIDS is often funny and heartfelt, the kind of movie you won't necessarily regret paying for at the multiplex. Better this than, say, the quasi-edgy films that don't say much at all, or the hyper-violent ones that aim simply to dish out a body count. But it's also a disappointment. The premise is interesting but not entirely easy to buy: How can two friends decide that it's simpler to make a baby so they can avoid the fallout that happens between couples post-pregnancy and not realize that there are bound to be issues here, too? One character alludes to this, but the issues are treated as if they're not obvious. For instance, Jason and Julie seem to think it'll be quite simple to go back to dating once the baby's born and soon after the pregnancy weight is shed. On what planet? And must every relationship follow the same tired old road? (There's no need to call a spoiler when we all know this is how it unwinds.) Girl and guy don't think they like each other; girl likes guy after all (because he is, of course, adorable); guy thinks girl isn't his type; girl leaves guy; guy sees the light.

There are also some pretty unimaginative knocks on parenting: how it tries marriages, how it's so hard. Couples are too tired for sex; they argue about chores. This is nothing new. Plus, how is it possible that the most underwritten characters are the ones inhabited by Westfeldt's real-life beau, Jon Hamm, and one of the funniest comediennes around, Kristen Wiig? And no offense to writer-director Westfeldt, whose sharp wit is evident in so much of the movie's dialogue, but When Harry Met Sally called, and it wants its ending back. The winning speech, the fake hesitation (though perhaps not the sexualized banter) -- it's been done before. Friends with Kids is an entertaining movie. At times, it's even wise. Had it been unburdened by most of its romcom cliches, it could've been brilliant.