No Friends of Mine

by Thomas Willett

12:00am PST, March 15, 2012

When it comes to comedies, almost every premise has been done before. What defines a success is no longer based on how funny the set-up is, but how well the jokes are presented. In Friends with Kids, platonic couple Jason (Adam Scott) and Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) try to combat their friends with kids by having a child while dating different people. Will the plan to find their soul mates work? How does this differ from the other batch of romantic comedies based around children?

It seems that Westfeldt is not a confident or funny writer. Despite allowing various character moments to shine through, they are mostly overshadowed with familiar tropes. Instead of expressing unrest through a comedic routine, the characters simply say it. Almost all emotions seem to be on the surface and creates some of the most flat and uninteresting characters in a comedy. They are not quite to the level of stereotypes, but they lack a complex personality needed to make these types of stories work. The events follow a familiar formula and the expected happens without any challenges.

This almost feels like Westfeldt’s passion project. With a directing, writing, and starring credit, she controls the screen. Her performance is bland and her comedic timing is worse. Amongst a promising cast, she provides the least interesting lines and without much effort makes her character the least likable. There are moments where it feels like she is simply playing the part, amused by her own script. She doesn’t challenge herself and therefore makes the choice to play the lead more baffling by dragging everyone else down.

The one standout is Adam Scott. Despite a limited script, his ability to deliver each line with a charismatic deadpan brings a slight sense of tease to what could have been. He becomes the glue that holds the story together as he tries to make everyone else seem funnier. His chemistry with Westfeldt is somewhat interesting, though the energy mostly comes from Scott. His only detriment is his limited range that makes the more emotional scenes feel forced.

Maybe it’s because the result feels too scripted, but it’s a shame that this isn’t better. With a cast that features Bridesmaids stars Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Chris O’Dowd, and Maya Rudolph, it feels like there is missed potential for inspired comedic tangents that gave the supporting characters substance. Instead they are used mostly to state how ridiculous the plot is. Because there isn’t any conflict to be solved, it is possible that their lack of involvement springs from having no direction.

Despite the formulaic outcome, Westfeldt does manage to present one theme very well. In some way, every character has been separated or divorced by the movie’s end. With the additional use of Megan Fox’s shrill single woman who is against having children, it feels like the overall theme of the movie is that being single is great and that relationships never work. It is possible that this mindset contributes to why the actual story lacks ambition. It treats the married couples as always being agitated and doesn’t develop a change in that until an unclear point in the third act, making the ending seem somewhat hypocritical.

This movie ends up being immediately forgettable. Instead of being a spiritual sequel to Bridesmaids, it comes across as amateurish. It doesn’t fail to give a coherent plot, but it rarely gets interesting. Even in sense of character drama, it comes across as the basics necessary to reach the conclusion. As movies like Our Idiot Brother prove, Adam Scott is a funny actor. While an ambitious effort on his part, this isn’t the film that turns him into a lead performer. Maybe with a richer script and more dangerous approach, things might be different.