Babes is a comedy about two NYC friends Eden(Ilana Glazer) the Peter Pan and Dawn(Michelle Buteau) the responsible adult. Shortly after Dawn has her second child Eden gets pregnant. The movie follows their friendship as Dawn struggles with life following her second child and Eden moves through her pregnancy.
Glazer is funny and has presence but the character as written feels thinly drawn, undercut by some of the gags and sections of improv that don't really work or don't mesh well with some of the narratives emotional intent. Buteau is an incredible actor and the two undeniably have chemistry but she too is constrained by some of the manufactured conflict throughout the runtime. There's a great movie in here but what we get feels too loose, too surface level, somewhat at odds with the rich(but mostly underexplored) subject matter. The supporting cast has some heavy hitters- Sandra Bernhard, Oliver Platt, and John Carroll Lynch- but all are underutilized. On paper the cast is top notch but what comes across is mostly a confusion of intent.
The look, the soundtrack, the on location shooting all work(although how these characters can afford where they live or their lives in general is certainly a sizeable suspension of disbelief). The main issue is the tone, its uneven and as a result makes the script feel like a rough draft. The emotional beats either feel unearned/underdeveloped or contrived. There's too much conflict that feels forced. There's not enough reality and as a result the comedy isn't as effective as it should be.
Doesn't reach its potential.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
Stream It.
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