Babes (2024)

I totally understand when opinions seem to vary wildly when we see the many "greatest films/films you must see"lists covering specific years that have just gone by, but I was very surprised to see so many people seem to miss, or completely overlook, Babes. Not only is this one of the best comedies of 2024, it's one of the best comedies I have seen in years. I hope this small corner of the internet can allow me to praise it highly enough that others get to discover just how wonderful it is.

Ilana Glazer is Eden, a good friend to Dawn (Michelle Buteau). The pair have been friends for many years, and the film starts with them having to rush to the hospital as Dawn goes into labour with her next child. Eden is happy enough without her own children, but that situation is about to change in a major way, all thanks to a handsome man named Claude (Stephan James). It's not too long until Eden is considering how to cope with her situation, but she starts to discover that Dawn cannot always give her the time and energy that she needs from those she considers more family member than friend.

Co-written by Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz, both doing excellent work, and directed by Pamela Adlon, smoothly transitioning from helming some TV work to her first feature, Babes is a perfect balance of big laughs and nicely-crafted emotional moments. It has a central message that can be found in many other movies, one about the joys and importance of motherhood and family, but it sets itself apart from the crowd by also delivering the equally important message that family doesn't necessarily mean people you are related to by blood. You can make your own family. Your friends can be family. And the family that you make of your own choosing can be much better for you than the options that you are simply given from birth.

As well as being such a talented writer, Glazer delivers a brilliant comedic turn in her lead role. She's matched by Buteau, who shares a lot of the runtime until division keeps our main characters apart for a while. Not only are both leads great with the material, whether delivering laughs or being serious, but they both feel like they really have been friends since they were children (not surprising as they have apparently been friends for 20 years). It's the kind of onscreen chemistry that elevates everything. James makes a strong impression with his relatively small amount of screentime, Hasan Minhaj is very good as Marty, the husband of Dawn, and there are very enjoyable cameos from John Carroll Lynch (as a doctor as concerned with his own balding as he is concerned with his patient) and Oliver Platt (playing a dad very much aware of his own shortcomings). 

The 104-minute runtime allows for perfect pacing as things move between the jokes and the more heartfelt moments of authentic emotion, there are one or two good needle drops on the soundtrack, and you'll spend the end credits hoping that there's a future where we get to spend even more time with these characters. Babes isn't perfect, but I'll be damned if I can think of one specific imperfection worth mentioning right now. You should all see it. You can thank Glazer and co. for delivering something so fantastic (no pun intended). Then you can thank me for recommending it to you.

9/10

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It Ends With Us (2024)

People may be more interested in the behind-the-scenes drama than the onscreen result now that It Ends With Us is way beyond the marketing and all-smiles-for-the-release phase, but it's a film that I actually saw before the release of the full details of what allegedly happened while it was being made. So I'll try just to judge it on what we get within the film.

It's a strange mix, and ultimately not a great film.

Blake Lively plays Lily Bloom, who is the latest fictional character in a long line of those who prove the idea of nominative determinism when she gathers up the courage and funds to open her own florist shop. She becomes firm friends with Allysa (Jenny Slate), which also leads to her dating Allysa's brother, Ryle (Justin Baldoni). Lily also ends up reconnecting with someone from her past, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), and this causes tension between her and Ryle, which highlights the problem that Ryle has controlling his temper. 

Adapted from the Colleen Hoover book by Christy Hall, and directed by Baldoni, there's something worthwhile, and even admirable, about It Ends With Us. The third act presents a surprisingly impactful and pointed look at the many ways people can excuse, and even justify, red flags/violence/abuse in their loved ones, often until it is far too late to get themselves into a much safer situation. The fact that it's all dressed up in so prettily, just like a standard romantic movie, is both a plus and a minus for it. I understand that it's a way to sell the film, as well as being a way to present the rose-filtered glasses that people can have on while trying to hold on to a relationship that isn't worth their time, but it undoubtedly works against the more serious thematic strand that is the main thrust of the film.

Lively is a really good lead, she can do gritty and strong as well as she can do soft and mushy, and this role needs her to do both. Slate is also a big plus, portraying someone who seems to be a really good friend, but takes time to fully step up when things are taking a turn for the worse. As for Baldoni and Sklenar, they're both here more for their looks than their acting talent, from what I can tell, but the latter certainly has more of an appealing screen presence than the former, and that clearly helps with how the story wants to pan out. You get decent supporting turns from Hasan Minhaj (partner of Slate's character), Kevin McKidd and Amy Morton (parents of a young Lily, who is played well by Isabela Ferrer), and Alex Neustaedter (young Atlas), but anyone moving around onscreen tends to be there in service of the unfolding stories of Lily, Ryle, and Atlas, and the film moves in and out of interactions always ready to get right back alongside one of the leads.

I am not familiar with the source material (and I don't think I'll ever want to dive into any Colleen Hoover books, as upsetting as I'm sure that is for her to hear as she cries into her millions), but I can't help thinking there was a better way to adapt it into a film. It's only the third act that stands out, and that's only thanks to the use of a metaphorical bright marker pen underlining the real message of the movie, and even making it feel very like a love triangle seems to be a disservice to a lot of women who will watch this and recognise some disturbingly familiar moments. 

Considering the relative success, I'm sure we'll see more attempts to adapt Colleen Hoover novels in the near future. You could say that it's unlikely to end with this. Maybe the others will be less problematic. We'll just have to wait and see.

5/10

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