IN A NUTSHELL:
Written and directed by Nikole Beckwith, this dramedy is about a loner who becomes the gestational surrogate for a single man in his 40s. As strangers, they come to realize their unexpected relationship will challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries, and love. The popular film first showed at the Sundance Film Festival and garnered instant praise.
THINGS I LIKED: Everyone fell in love with Ed Helms when we first saw him on The Office: The Complete Series. He plays his typical hapless man-child character, which many people find endearing. If you don't like him, don't watch this movie. There's a very sweet monologue by Ed Helms about why he wants to have a baby as a single man. His character developed an app called "Loner." Both of the characters are loners who learn how to navigate an unexpected friendship. One of my sons also invented a dating app! It's called Mutual and is doing great! Ed Helms and Patti Harrison have good, awkward chemistry together.
I've never seen Patti Harrison perform in anything before. She's really fantastic and I can't wait to see what else she can do.
Julio Torres is hilarious and has some of the funniest lines in the movie.
Comedian Tig Notaro has been popping up in a lot of movies lately. I'm always surprised when Tig's characters are serious!
I've seen how parents will mark a wall to illustrate how tall their child has grown, but I hadn't seen the idea before of having a pregnant woman lie flat on the floor and marking how high her belly gets during the 9 months! Cute idea!
I appreciated the fact that the movie illustrates how long and painful childbirth can be. I delivered 4 babies and can tell you it wasn't easy! Totally worth it though, of course! The expressions on Ed Helms' face and Patti Harrison's face were priceless at the moment the baby was born. The feels!
Lovely music.
Did you notice that the opening font of the movie is the same as what you see in Woody Allen films?
I love seeing Nora Dunn but thought her character was super annoying and insensitive. I just cringed whenever she walked into the room. There's a strong message from the director there. Message received.
If you're a fan of the popular TV show Friends, you'll get a kick out of some of their conversations about that show.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: So many painful, awkward, uncomfortable moments! The comedic tone is very flat. It's intentional but not a style people are used to.
We don't get a lot of backstory on the leading man.
I thought there would be more lines using the expression "Together Together" to describe what their relationship was or wasn't.
There are some jabs at Costco. C'mon! I love Costco!
The movie ends so abruptly. I wanted it to keep going to experience the big payoff.
Patti Harrison's makeup was a bit distracting when you could see the line of foundation on her neck.
Some of the decisions that Matt has to make, like choosing paint color in the baby's bedroom, illustrate how completely ill-equipped he is to have a baby. There's not much discussion about whether or not he should be having a baby, just that he is.
It was kind of creepy that Ed Helm's character wanted to pretend to breastfeed with that special nursing vest. Still, it showed he was all in!
TIPS FOR PARENTS: Lots of talk of sex A male character demonstrates how to use a tampon with visual aids Kids will be very bored.
l!
THINGS I LIKED: Everyone fell in love with Ed Helms when we first saw him on The Office: The Complete Series. He plays his typical hapless man-child character, which many people find endearing. If you don't like him, don't watch this movie. There's a very sweet monologue by Ed Helms about why he wants to have a baby as a single man. His character developed an app called "Loner." Both of the characters are loners who learn how to navigate an unexpected friendship. One of my sons also invented a dating app! It's called Mutual and is doing great! Ed Helms and Patti Harrison have good, awkward chemistry together.
I've never seen Patti Harrison perform in anything before. She's really fantastic and I can't wait to see what else she can do.
Julio Torres is hilarious and has some of the funniest lines in the movie.
Comedian Tig Notaro has been popping up in a lot of movies lately. I'm always surprised when Tig's characters are serious!
I've seen how parents will mark a wall to illustrate how tall their child has grown, but I hadn't seen the idea before of having a pregnant woman lie flat on the floor and marking how high her belly gets during the 9 months! Cute idea!
I appreciated the fact that the movie illustrates how long and painful childbirth can be. I delivered 4 babies and can tell you it wasn't easy! Totally worth it though, of course! The expressions on Ed Helms' face and Patti Harrison's face were priceless at the moment the baby was born. The feels!
Lovely music.
Did you notice that the opening font of the movie is the same as what you see in Woody Allen films?
I love seeing Nora Dunn but thought her character was super annoying and insensitive. I just cringed whenever she walked into the room. There's a strong message from the director there. Message received.
If you're a fan of the popular TV show Friends, you'll get a kick out of some of their conversations about that show.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: So many painful, awkward, uncomfortable moments! The comedic tone is very flat. It's intentional but not a style people are used to.
We don't get a lot of backstory on the leading man.
I thought there would be more lines using the expression "Together Together" to describe what their relationship was or wasn't.
There are some jabs at Costco. C'mon! I love Costco!
The movie ends so abruptly. I wanted it to keep going to experience the big payoff.
Patti Harrison's makeup was a bit distracting when you could see the line of foundation on her neck.
Some of the decisions that Matt has to make, like choosing paint color in the baby's bedroom, illustrate how completely ill-equipped he is to have a baby. There's not much discussion about whether or not he should be having a baby, just that he is.
It was kind of creepy that Ed Helm's character wanted to pretend to breastfeed with that special nursing vest. Still, it showed he was all in!
TIPS FOR PARENTS: Lots of talk of sex A male character demonstrates how to use a tampon with visual aids Kids will be very bored.
l!