2012
110 minutes
rated R
by Scott Mendelson
There are few things more dispiriting than an engaging and thoughtful film slowly ditching that which made it unique and instead traveling down the road of convention. Yet such is the case for writer/director Jennifer Westfeldt's Friends With Kids. What starts as a strong and painfully honest look at how adult relationships are affected when said adults start having children gives way to a somewhat conventional romantic comedy set-up where two leads spend the movie looking for love everywhere but with each other. That the film still maintains its entertainment value is due to is strong cast and slice-of-life details. But while the film is mostly engaging and occasionally thoughtful, it loses points for ditching the very components that made it stand out among the pack in order to trade on genre conventions.
