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FRIENDS WITH KIDS

"Overcome by Its Own Offensive Duplicity"

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FRIENDS WITH KIDS is yet another urban-set yuppie romantic comedy where a woman approaching 40 is afraid she’ll never meet Mr. Right. Julie becomes depressed as she watches her friends getting married and/or having children. So, she decides to conceive and raise a child with her decades-long best friend, Jason, an unrepentant playboy. Of course, things get complicated and dramatic when the baby actually arrives and begins to grow up.

Eventually in FRIENDS WITH KIDS, Julie and Jason find their plan of sharing custody with their child unworkable. Also, the child clearly misses not having both parents in the same home. So, Jason finally decides to end his playboy ways. In fact, he even makes a good speech to Julie about being a family. The movie blows this touching moment, however, by adding a very crude final piece of dialogue. The rest of the movie also is filled with crude elements and gratuitous foul language. Finally, the movie clearly shows that Jason is an atheist who shuns women who believe in God. All in all, FRIENDS WITH KIDS is neither entertaining nor edifying enough. In fact, it’s often talky, predictable, and lackluster.

Content:

(PaPaPa, RoRo, HH, AbAb, Ev, B, C, LLL, SS, NN, AA, D, MMM) Very strong crude, somewhat mixed pagan worldview with strong Romantic elements and pro-atheist humanist elements that are anti-religious (protagonist has atheist, pro-evolutionary author’s books by Richard Dawkins on his nightstand and makes a point at least three other times in the movie of not believing in God and wanting to avoid women who do), mitigated slightly by some slight pro-family elements that, however, come too late, and that are mitigated by the movie’s very lewd final moment, plus there are references to Christmas including a Christmas carol that pops up out of nowhere but these things don’t really change or affect the movie’s atheist references or other Non-Christian worldview elements except perhaps by vague implication; at least 90 obscenities and profanities; no violence; strong sexual content includes much lewd and crude dialogue (including dialogue about how to have a baby without the benefit of marriage, some of which involves strange couplings) and implied sexual immorality plus characters lie in bed after having intercourse and one side character decides to leave his wife; upper male nudity, partial rear female nudity with women in thongs, female cleavage, and implied female nudity (but not shown) when women lie under bed covers and when woman flashes a man; alcohol use and a scene of drunkenness; brief smoking; and, very dysfunctional family elements and portrayals.

More Detail:

FRIENDS WITH KIDS is yet another urban-set yuppie romantic comedy with dramatic moments where a woman approaching 40 is afraid she’ll never meet Mr. Right. Julie becomes depressed as she watches her friends getting married and/or having children. So, she decides to conceive and raise a child with her decades-long best friend, Jason, an unrepentant playboy. Of course, things get complicated and dramatic when the baby actually arrives and begins to grow up.

Once the movie gets past a zippy and funny first half hour, it drags mercilessly through an overly talky and predictable middle segment before becoming reinvigorated during a dinner party fight between two of Julie’s long-married friends. It’s practically a foregone conclusion that Julie and Jason will wind up together as a real couple. The problem is that the movie lags during its talky middle stretch, which also has no unpredictable scenes. Though the final half hour is powerfully performed, a great part of that involves discussion between a disgruntled husband and his wife, two side characters played by Jon Hamm and Kristin Wiig. The final half hour also winds up with one of the most distasteful lines in movie history. (This is no exaggeration.) The final line, which is repeated, echoes the movie’s other frequently offensive content.

[SPOILER ALERT] In the ending, the male lead seems to have learned his lesson that sex won’t make him happy. He also decides he wants to settle down with his best friend and their child. In fact, he delivers an uplifting speech about true love and commitment. At the last minute, however, he crudely asks her to let him prove his feelings for her by having intense sex. It’s a moment so jarring and utterly out of step with the lessons the character allegedly learned that women in the audience were audibly offended and even male critics in the secular media expressed strong distaste.

FRIENDS WITH KIDS wants to succeed in the vein of last year’s movie BRIDESMAIDS – even using four of the same stars in the cast – but doesn’t come close to that movie’s comic energy. Instead, it only appropriates that movie’s raunchier moments.

Worst of all, perhaps, are the sexual jokes and unusually frank discussions of the characters’ sex lives. This also carries over into the characters’ discussion of all the myriad ways to have a baby without the benefit of marriage. All manner of artificial arrangements and strange couplings are recommended until the movie’s central conceit is established: that Julie and Jason – who have been friends for 20 years – should just fornicate until they conceive. Then, when they have the baby, they’ll share custody but continue with their own separate lives in every way.

In the movie’s only positive element, this arrangement proves unworkable. [SPOILERS FOLLOW] Julie and Jason ruin their friendship. To top it off, their child misses having both parents at home. Eventually, this finally encourages Jason to stop being promiscuous. He admits to Julie he truly loves her and wants to have a normal family life. The movie blows this touching moment, however, by having Jason make an extremely crude comment about being sexual with Julie. When Julie repeats the crude line, the movie loses all credibility and goodwill. It provides a final tawdry moment to a movie that could have been much better.

All told, FRIENDS WITH KIDS lacks a strong enough plot to sustain interest. It also has abundant foul language and offensive lewd discussions throughout its running time. Furthermore, the lead male character, a playboy, is shown to be a committed atheist who doesn’t want anything to do with women who believe in God. Finally, with the movie’s final lewd moment, writer and director Jennifer Westfeldt (the pro-homosexual movie KISSING JESSICA STEIN as co-writer) undercuts her own message that true love and friendship are more valuable than sex. FRIENDS WITH KIDS is neither entertaining nor edifying enough to attract a big audience. Jennifer’s movies, which also include the screenplay for the anti-marriage comedy IRA & ABBY, are very clearly not family friendly. Only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will begin to truly change her apparent career path.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.