Movie Review ~ Babes

I always hate it when critics start a review comparing one movie to another, even favorably, because it sets many expectations.  So, I’m going to do it anyway. Multiple times during Babes, co-written by star Ilana Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz, I was transported back to my first screening of Bridesmaids, which I went to while waiting for my car to get fixed on a random weekday.  This was before it became an Oscar-nominated benchmark in female-led comedies and an endlessly quotable, meme-able, miracle of a blockbuster hit.  

There are a lot of similarities between the films, and I won’t be the last critic to set the two movies side-by-side to see how this newer model measures up to the classic.  Like Bridesmaids, Babes (which premiered at SXSW and I caught at a sold-out, raucous screening at the Chicago Film Critics Festival) has the same themes of friendship being family, insightful knowledge of the inner workings of complex dynamics in long-lasting bonds of togetherness, and a commitment to making a “warts-and-all” approach mean more than gross-out humor. It’s all familiar, yet under Pamela Adlon’s razor-sharp, no-BS direction, Glazer and co-star Michelle Buteau go deeper into roles that provide them depth and dimension.  

Best friends Eden (Glazer, False Positive) and Dawn (Buteau, Marry Me) talk daily, exchange TMI photos, and engage in the set routines reserved for the longest of lasting friendships.  As the film opens, they observe their Thanksgiving tradition of catching an early movie earlier this year because of Dawn’s advanced pregnancy with her second child and Eden having to travel far across town now that they live so far apart.  The baby is ready to come out before the turkey, though, and the day turns into an eye-opening experience for Eden, who winds up going home with a handsome actor (Stephan James, If Beale Street Could Talk) whom she never hears from again.

The wrinkle is that from this one encounter she becomes pregnant with his child, and the independent, free-spirited Eden hadn’t ever sat down to think about what motherhood would mean to her.  She’s watched Dawn go through it, and while her friend has made it look easy, on the inside, Dawn is masking the weariness any mother can attest to feeling when your priorities are no longer your own.  Eden, in effect, becomes Dawn’s third child, even after she hires a humorless doula (Elena Ouspenskaia) as a stand-in when her oldest girlfriend can’t be there for her.  The further along Eden gets, the more their lifelong friendship is tested in surprising and emotional ways, leading to the inevitable question of where friendship ends and family begins.  

Riotously funny yet profoundly insightful, Babes is an endearing portrait of friendship hidden under the guise of a raunchy maternal comedy filled with physical gags and rapid-fire, biting one-liners.  Like Glazer’s acclaimed television series Broad City, importance is placed on the physicality of the players and letting that form many of the comedic high points.  At the same time, Adlon (Grease 2) brings her talent of challenging America’s isolated norms of what a nuclear family looks like, making a convincing case for shaping your life around the tight bonds of an extended community and the tighter embrace of friendship.

Glazer is giving one of those performances that take an already successful career to a massive next level.  She delivers a tour de force performance, capturing the essence of a woman dealing with antiquated but still real societal expectations of what a mother should be and the complexities of modern relationships, both platonic and romantic. Her work is a masterclass in perfect delivery and emotional depth, effortlessly transitioning between boisterous energy and irreverent introspection. Buteau, better here than ever before, shines as a steadfast friend and confidante, her vivacious presence a perfect foil to Glazer’s frenetic energy.  The chemistry between Glazer and Buteau (friends before filming the movie) is palpable, making their on-screen friendship feel authentic and easy to engage with.

The ensemble cast is treated with an equal amount of love and sincerity. John Carroll Lynch (Jackie) as Eden’s follicle-obsessed gynecologist Dr. Morris is delightfully deadpan, Haunted Mansion’s Hasan Minhaj playing Dawn’s supportive husband Marty is given a mini-arc for all the dads watching out there in the dark, and the never to be counted out Oliver Platt (Flatliners) is Eden’s reclusive father Bernie who has one major scene and doesn’t waste a second of it.

Remarkably, this is Adlon’s first feature film.  Known for her celebrated acting career, Adlon has stepped behind the camera before on the television show she created, Better Things, but this is work on a larger scale, which has failed many of her male counterparts.  Her confidence behind the camera gives Babes a unique voice and comedic style.  Her eye for detail and ability to draw out the best in her actors make for a visually appealing and emotionally resonant film. She can seamlessly blend humor and heart without feeling treacly, which sets Babes apart from other comedies, marking her as a formidable talent in the director’s chair.

Babes is an uproarious and deeply touching exploration of friendship, pregnancy, and unpredictable life journeys, offering a fresh and fiercely funny take on the complexities of modern womanhood. There are more LPM (laughs per minute) in this impeccably cast gem than you can likely process in one viewing, a fact NEON is likely counting on to propel the film into an early summer hit.  See it with everyone you know.  It’s one of the few can’t-miss, instant classic, R-rated comedies I could ever recommend.