“When are you going to put a baby in there?!” This was the question an acquaintance asked me as she grabbed my belly with both of her hands and and shook it, while a gaggle of mothers and grandmothers smiled on approvingly.
That was just the first time this happened. While aggressive pressure to become a parent didn’t always involve a near-stranger rattling my vacant uterus, it was always uncomfortable.
Thankfully, Babies has come for those of us who have endured the bizarre barrage of personal questions that come from the heteronormative assumption that all married couples must procreate. Written and directed by Lauren Miller Rogen, and co-starring her husband Seth Rogen opposite Anna Kendrick, this hilarious comedy explores what it means to be the only child-free couple left, when all your friends have gone the breeder route.
Babies has a can’t-miss meta context.
In 2021, Miller Rogen co-wrote the sidesplitting buddy comedy For A Good Time, Call… in which she starred with Ari Graynor as two twenty-somethings running a phone sex line to make a living in New York City. First off, if you missed that movie, seek it out. It’s one of the funniest buddy comedies ever made, and criminally underseen. Secondly, Miller Rogen takes the wit and irreverence shown in that funny film, and channels it into an exploration of what it means to consider the kids question.
Kendrick stars as the writer/director’s alter ego, Annie, while Seth Rogen plays the happy-go-lucky husband, Aaron. Fans of the Rogens will recognize some similarities, as Babies‘ central couple is child-free, loves making pottery, and smoking weed. Plus, Annie, like Miller Rogen, has a mother who’s suffering from debilitating dementia.
Knowing any or all of this will enrich Babies, as it gives Annie and Aaron’s inner-monologue narrations an inherently more personal feel. But don’t be mistaken. Babies isn’t taking the Knocked Up route, splitting the focus between Rogen’s chuckling dude and his anxious partner. Most of the movie is firmly on Annie, revealing how she’s trying to build her own art gallery, while juggling the needs of her friends, who are both moms with a lot going on.
Blissful Becky (Issa Rae) seems initially like a poster girl for moms, radiant while pregnant, adored by her husband (Zach Cherry), and patiently balancing the demands of her daughters with the rigors of her work. Meanwhile, high-strung Eliza (Kate Berlant) is a real estate agent with a quirky kiddo that she shares with a mirthful manchild (Dan Stevens) that she’s steadily growing to hate. With these two figures, Miller Rogen deftly sets up the dream of motherhood — and a nightmare of it. What if she can’t live up to the example of the former? What if becoming the latter would destroy her relationship with her partner?
Annie and Aaron’s ambivalence about parenthood is tested when they’re trusted to babysit a friend’s kid for months. It becomes like a sampling of parenthood, which they respond to with a mix of amusement, irritation, and horror. But whether they’re learning the quirks of potty training or the pleasures of playtime, Babies keeps things fun.
Babies gets smartly serious.
Through a running inner monologue, Annie expresses to the audience the less-than-socially acceptable fears and frustrations about motherhood. Miller Rogen’s terrific script brings bite and humanity to her humorous heroine, making for side-splitting observations. However, as Annie visits with her folks, Babies steps into another challenging part of growing up, caring for elderly parents.
Annie’s mother is no longer ambulatory, can’t speak or eat on her own. She’s cared for by her husband (David Straitharn) and a health aide. This subplot swiftly dispels the notion that the child-free have no substantial personal responsibilities. Plus, these scenes, tender, tense, and occasionally heart-breaking, suggest how what was right for our parents might not be right for us, and vice versa. Heart-to-heart conversations with her dad push Annie to consider not only what she wants for her life, but what he needs for his. And in this collision, both grow closer, even in the face of grief.
This thoughtful dose of drama amid poop jokes and comically high-energy crashouts gives Babies an added dimension that reflects how even the silliest moments can have deep meaning, while defining, dramatic moments can also be absurd. This awareness makes Babies feel like a breath of fresh air, as the Rogens and their ensemble of rightly celebrated actors refuse to make a punchline out of the desires of the child-free.
This all leads to a climax that’s silly and satisfying. What Aaron and Annie choose won’t be determined by pressure of friends or family, or the fears of what might come. And in that, this comedy is not just terrifically entertaining and heartwarming, but also a welcomed representation of living child-free without regrets.
Babies was reviewed out of its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
