Babes movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Babes

This raunchy comedy is now playing in theaters and on Fandango at Home and Amazon Prime Video.

RATING: R in SOOO many ways

LENGTH: 1 hour 44 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: C+

SPONSOR of Today’s movie review:

In honor of the theme for one of the women’s baby birth: https://amzn.to/3xMQ5b1

IN A NUTSHELL:

The story is about two best friends who navigate pregnancy and childbirth, as it changes their relationship.

The film was directed by Pamela Adlon in her directorial debut. Writing credits go to Llana Glazer, Josh Rabinowitz, who also co-produced it with Susie Fox, Ashley Fox, and Breean Pojunas. Already, the film has been nominated for awards by two film festivals.

THINGS I LIKED:

Michelle Buteau and Llana Glazer have fantastic chemistry together and are believable as besties since childhood.
Llana Glazer was really pregnant while writing and filming this movie. She drew inspiration from her own experience with pregnancy and motherhood. I got a kick out of her physical humor as she played a spunky, energetic yoga instructor who gets knocked up after a one-night stand.
There are a lot of funny moments that are often simultaneously cringe moments. Some audiences will love that.
All of the secondary characters did a great job too, and include John Carroll Lynch, Oliver Platt, Sandra Bernhard, Hasan Minhaj, and Stephen James.
I love it when New York City is one of the characters in a movie. New Yorkers are very different kind of people from the ones I live around.
There is a raw honesty about motherhood. Hopefully, men who watch this film will better appreciate what women do.
How lucky are those who have best friends like this who are fiercely loyal.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The film is extremely raunchy, disrespectful, and profane. It’s not my cup of tea, but I can absolutely see why some audiences will think it’s hilarious and smart. It reminded me that there actually are people out there who live and speak like this in real life.
The content about bodily fluids and exhaustion is repeated over and over. While I wanted them to move on to new territory, I absolutely recognize that motherhood is filled with those things!
One of the things that made me sad about this movie is the focus on the negative side of parenting. Yes, being pregnant and raising kids is exhausting, but it’s also the most rewarding thing a woman will ever do in her life.
The ending is predictable, yet still made me a little teary-eyed.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

This absolutely not appropriate for kids.
No subject is taboo in this movie.
TONS of super crude language and people
We see a full nude pregnant woman. She tries to cover various body parts with her hands.
We see two women take psychedelic shrooms
An unmarried couple has a one-night stand (we don’t see the action)
A woman tells a 3-year-old boy to watch a rated R movie with her: The Omen, which is a terribly scary movie for kids and incredibly inappropriate. He ends up writing 666 in red on the walls of his bedroom.
When a doctor asks a pregnant woman if she wants to know the gender of her baby, she explains she doesn’t want to put a binary name on it.
Lots of alcohol
Lots of talk of intimate relationships (if you know what I mean)

THEMES:

Female friendship
Motherhood
Searching for happiness
Abortion
Choices
Mental health
Boundaries
Connection
The expanded definition of family

FUNNY LINES:

“Don’t be a jellybean.” – Dawn (Michelle Buteau)
“Genetic tests are necessarily racist.” – Dr. Morris (John Carroll Lynch)
“That needle’s nuts!” – Eden (Llana Glazer)

INTERESTING LINES:

“This is all about your choice and what’s good for you.” – Dawn (Michelle Buteau) This is absolutely how so many women feel today about abortion. They don’t consider the life they’re killing or try to find other options that would be good for the baby.