Babes is Hilarious, Raw, Real Look at Pregnancy

Before discovering I was unable to carry a child to term, I remember vividly asking my mother what having a baby felt like. Without hesitation, she informed me that the beautiful etheeial experience often depicted in film and television was not real. Mommy said it was painful and not cute, while adding, anyone telling me the contrary to what she said was lying…lol. Welp, needless to say that was all I needed to know – until now.

Directed by the amazingly gifted Pamela Adlon and from co-writers Ilana Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz, Babes is a hilarious and heartfelt comedy about the bonds of friendship, the messy, unpredictable challenges of adulthood and becoming a parent under the most unusual and stressful conditions ever.

Eden (Glazer), a free spirited yoga instructor and Dawn (Michelle Buteau), married working mom with a toddler and one on the way, are childhood best friends now navigating the cataclysmic life shift that is motherhood. Both characters share similarities with their creators. “I would say that Eden is me and Josh, because we were yet to have children,” says Glazer. “We were still bright-eyed, bushy tailed, feeling like people who didn’t have that enormous, very acute responsibility. And Dawn is really Susie, who was a couple years ahead, balancing her amazing, impressive career with having two tiny children under two, who was like: “Oh, you just wait.'”

One of my favorite scenes is when Dawn decides to have a pregnant woman’s version of the last supper before her water breaks and she is forced to make her way to the hospital for delivery. I literally laughed until I cried. Additionally, I rather enjoyed the transparency and reality of how being pregnant and single, as well as, married with a spouse really plays out. The manner in which their friendship was almost destroyed through unconsciously being selfish and unaware is a life lesson for all, regardless of gender, whether with child or not. There is also the lesson of learning to take on more responsibility in life whether or not you think you might be ready.

Glazer and Buteau don’t skip a beat and it’s their honest chemistry that contributes to making it a perfect film to debut on Mother’s Day. Their physical comedy and improvisational skills are a delight to witness, as is the support from male characters ranging from Oliver Platt and John Carroll Lynch as Eden’s absent father and her TMI-sharing OB-GYN, respectively.

Adlon does a tremendous job with keeping the comedy and its stars grounded, while simultaneously giving us a film that can live on in cinematic perpetuity.