DVD review – Friends with benefits hit the spot

DVD: Friends with Kids

Director: Jennifer Westfeldt

Featuring: Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt , Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig

Rating: 3/5

You will either love this or hate it.

I loved it; not only for a strong ensemble cast with good comedic timing, but for reinforcing the notion that women in Hollywood are taking over the reins and are in charge of their careers.

Jennifer Westfeldt is the latest woman to take the writing and starring route in her own comedy.

Here she plays a woman whose friends have gone from carefree, fun-loving interesting people to angry, tired, harassed and very unhappy parents who enjoy no intimacy with each other.

She and the last single guy in the close-knit circle – her best friend – decide to have a child together without the complication of a relationship.

They are BFFs who will share custody and find the loves of their lives when they already have a kid.

That way, life will always be a ray of sunshine and butterflies in the field. You see where this is going, right?

The plot is, unfortunately, predictable – not to mention ludicrous in real life, but the jokes are good and the acting effortless.

Maya Rudolph and Chris O’Dowd have a “settled-down” type of chemistry that makes them the real adorable couple in this circle, while you can see the relationship between Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig’s characters is doomed.

Rent it for a fun romantic comedy night in, and enjoy the bloopers reel too. Extras also include Scene 42: Anatomy of a Gag plus deleted scenes, something you hardly find on DVDs any more.