Babes

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Overview

Set to be released in May 2024, Babes is an American comedy-drama film directed by Pamela Adlon, best known for her television work. Ilana Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz wrote the screenplay, and Glazer stars in the film as well. Babes is centered on filthy best friends, Eden and Dawn, as they deal with the wonderful and painful challenges of pregnancy and motherhood in the context of contemporary New York City. The film, produced by FilmNation, is celebrated for its raw and honest depiction of female friendships alongside the realities of motherhood and childbirth.

Plot Summary

Eden, a yoga instructor from Astoria, Queens, is a spirited singleton who thrives on her late-night gigs and a blend of creative class chaos. Everything changes for Eden when an unimaginable occurrence turns her world upside down. After a spontaneous one-night stand with Claude, a man she only recently met, Eden discovers she is pregnant. This is a shock to someone who thought they were incapable of conceiving.

Dawn is a successful dentist with a stable life, married with two young kids, which makes her seem more responsible compared to her best friend, Eden. But beneath the surface, she is emotionally spent and doubting her role as a mother. When Eden reaches out to her for help, the pair spiral into a whirlwind of choices, consultations, late-night conversations, and out-of-control meltdowns.

Eden is set to give birth, and Dawn faces her own family work demand and internal struggles. Their relationship develops differently for both, highlighting their growing differences. The conflict is further compounded as Eden demands to sever the umbilical cord tethering her to Dawn’s overbearing mothering. Thus, the friends are pushed to their limits of character development, grappling with the elements of loss, active labor, and madness of becoming a new mother.

Eden and Dawn journey through absurd gynecological and parenting fails and emotional meltdowns, brilliantly capturing the intertwined dance of self-care and nurturing. The filmmakers delve into the genre of love by portraying the journey of two women teetering in the embrace of love, growing up and growing apart, and growing closer while still clinging to each other.

Main Cast & Performances

Ilana Glazer as Eden

Bringing forth Eden’s character quirks that are unique and intricate, Ilana Glazer’s performance combines loudness and honesty while being vulnerable and awkward. The character is a woman not defined by motherhood, as portrayed by Glazer, making her characterization refreshing and hilarious. Glazer’s performance is a captivating mix of side-splitting humor and raw emotional honesty.

Michelle Buteau as Dawn

Buteau’s performance is relatable and portrays a mother on the edge, countering the chaotic energy that Glazer brings as Eden. Instead, her character portrays the burnout of a mother who deeply loves and is loyal.

Stephan James as Claude

Claude is a small but significant character. Although he only depicts Eden’s brief romance, he serves as the unexpected reason for her change. The way he delivers charm and humor makes his small role memorable.

Hasan Minhaj as Marty

As Dawn’s husband, Marty is Dawn’s partner and a supportive but occasionally dazed spouse. He adds to the family dimension by introducing elements of collaboration and conflict in marriage, parenthood, and family life.

Thematic Considerations

  1. The Development of Friendships Between Women

Babes centers around friendship. Eden and Dawn were best friends from childhood. Now, as adults, they grapple with how their lives are diverging. The film tackles the tough stuff—jealousy, judgment, co-dependence—and shows how enduring friendships are able to bend, break, and heal over time.

  1. The Unvarnished Truth About Motherhood

The film chooses to remove the romanticized version of expecting and raising children. Eden’s story features a never-ending barrage of skepticism, discomfort, doubts, fears, and a negotiation of physical pain. Dawn’s portrayal of parenthood also lacks idealization and instead features honesty— disordered meals, sleep interrupts, identity fatigue, and relentless, unwavering love.

  1. Control and Responsibility

The story centers on Eden exercising the choice to get pregnant and have a child completely by herself. The film foregrounds the idea of women’s autonomy concerning their body, emphasizing the right to make decisions about their reproductive life free from shame, pressure, and idealism.

  1. Finding Comedy within Suffering

Humor in Babes isn’t limited to funny quips. It exists within the clumsy, the awkward, body parts, misunderstandings, and the ridiculousness of life. Prenatal class catastrophes and hospital errors, as well as nipple soreness, are all humorous in a way that uncovers the film’s emotional realities.

Direction and Tone

Pamela Adlon once again straddles comedy and emotion as A Woman’s Story takes center stage, pulling from her unique narrative style. The direction supports natural, performances-oriented dialogue while keeping the story character driven and focuses on the actors. Tenderness and nuance define her handling of estrangement, self-doubt, and postpartum depression.

While the film portrays the domestic aspects of life, it embodies the vibrant essence of New York City, the energy of the city and the life enclosed within it. The film’s locations, from yoga studios to the cramped apartments, capture the minds of the characters. The score captures ambient sounds rather than emotions, allowing the crying of infants, subway, and chatty kitchens to carry the weight of the feelings.

Critical Reception

Critical reception suggests the film was and has remained well received by the public, and viewers particularly praised the film’s realistic approach to dealing with motherhood, humor, and the impressive writing and performance of the film’s two leads. Reviewers highlighted the film’s ability to balance raunchy humor with genuine emotional resonance.

Reviewers believed the film managed to capture, especially for women and parents, the idea of withstanding the test of relatability. Its non-judgmental approach toward female choices and portrayals of unconventional pregnancy experiences was celebrated. the center of the film’s female friendship is often reasoned to resemble the grittier side of female buddy comedy.

Cultural Impact

Babes serves an important purpose in the context of the ongoing discussions on reproductive rights, maternal health, and the balancing act of work-life priorities. It highlights the fact that no singular “right” way to parent or “normal” way to progress into adulthood exists. It elevates and affirms the different lived realities, attesting to the disorder and contradictions that define contemporary womanhood.

For Ilana Glazer and Pamela Adlon, Babes marks another milestone for creators actively shaping and upholding narratives that are truthful and centered on women. The voice of the film adds to the body of work that strives to depict women without shying away from the physical and emotional challenges of being a woman in the world today.

Conclusion

Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau shine with superb performances in a film that is brutally candid and outrageously funny in its depiction of friendship, motherhood, and the ongoing “process” of to navigating life. The film is a celebration of life changes and transition full of chaos and unrestrained joy directed by Glazer and Buteau.

For anyone that has ever relied on a friend for support during a hard time, wondered if they were on the right path, or felt weighed down by the burdens of adulthood, Babes is the film for you. This comedy, in fact, serves as a love letter to women’s resilience, their beautiful and messy life changes, and the friendships that help them weather every phase of life.

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