By John Corrado
Written and directed by Lauren Miller Rogen, Babies is a bittersweet comedy about the personal choice whether or not to have kids, that draws a lot of elements from her own life with husband Seth Rogen.
Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick star in the film as Aaron and Annie, a happily married couple who enjoy their independence. As the only childless ones in their friend group, they are constantly being asked when they will have kids of their own, with Annie acutely aware that her body will eventually run out of time to get pregnant, answering the question for her.
Annie’s friend and business partner Becky (Issa Rae) has two kids with husband Ethan (Zach Cherry), and a third on the way. When their friend Eliza (Kate Berlant) leaves her husband Luke (Dan Stevens), she goes to stay with Aaron and Annie, bringing her young daughter along with her. This gives the couple the opportunity to live with a small child in their house, and see if it sparks a desire to have one of their own.
As Annie, Kendrick delivers one of her best performances, capturing her character’s genuine struggle around whether or not she wants to become a mother. Miller Rogen’s screenplay is built around the use of voiceover, with Annie’s inner monologues really adding to the film. It’s a creative choice that could’ve overwhelmed Babies, but actually adds to the authenticity of Annie’s constant anxiety around how to answer this question about procreation that she keeps being asked.
The question of whether to have kids is obviously a serious one, and one that pretty much every couple has to face. Miller Rogen approaches it with a lot of humour, but the film also refreshingly doesn’t treat it glibly and finds more nuance in the discussion. So regardless of where you personally fall on the issue, or where the film ultimately ends up, it’s easy to admire this approach. Miller Rogen’s screenplay frames it as an actual dilemma that Annie is facing, as she navigates a number of other events in her life.
While Babies earns its distinction as a comedy, including potty training humour and some laugh-out-loud funny bits, Miller Rogen does a fine job handling the more dramatic beats as well. Annie’s mother (Sharon Stone) is in the later stages of dementia, with her father (David Strathairn) devoting himself to caring for her. This brings an immediacy to how Annie grapples with the question of “who will care for you when you’re old?” that childless people always get.
Rogen does a nice job playing a variation of himself, sharing easy chemistry with Kendrick. The cast also includes Ed Helms as a potential investor in Annie’s pottery business. It’s very nicely shot, too, with Edu Grau’s cinematography having a filmic quality to it, as well as featuring a number of mirror shots. This is a pleasant surprise all around.
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