Friendships and homecomings prove fertile subjects

Thursday 28 June 2012

Friends with Kids (15)

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HHH

Dir: Jennifer Westfeldt

With: Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig

Running time: 107 minutes

JENNIFER Westfeldt's comedy drama is a mixed but intriguing bag. The writer-director plays Julie, one of a gang of friends who like to eat out in chichi restaurants, sleep eight hours a night and generally enjoy a child-free existence.

One by one, the couples in the group start to have children, leaving Julie and best pal Jason (Adam Scott) wondering if maybe they should give this parenthood thing a go as well, purely platonically of course. The stuff with the smug parents/screaming kids is unbearable, as presumably it was meant to be, leaving Westfeldt and Scott to hold the interest, which they do. The stand-out performance, though, comes from Mad Men's Jon Hamm as a disillusioned husband who tries to warn Julie and Jason that this parenthood gig is not as straightforward as they think. It's more than a tad contrived, but at least Westfeldt is trying something different and slightly daring. Your Sister's Sister (15)HHHHDir: Lynn SheltonWith: Emily Blunt, Mark DuplassRunning time: 90 minutesIF you like your comedy dramas very gabby and ultra hipster, Your Sister's Sister is for you. From "mumblecore" director Lynn Shelton, it's the story of two estranged sisters (played by Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt), and a pal (Mark Duplass) who decide to have a break from it all in the family's holiday home. "It all" follows them on holiday, however, as the thirtysomethings gripe about love, life, and each other. Shelton makes this slacker style of film-making seem easy (see it done badly, as in the many irritating imitations at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival, and you realise how good she is), and she pulls this tale of modern manners off in style. Emily Blunt is superb. Lovely Molly (15)HHDir: Eduardo SanchezWith: Gretchen Lodge, Tony EllisRunning time: 100 minutesBLAIR Witch director Eduardo Sanchez returns with another scary movie, this one deeper but not as terrifying as the film that made his name.Gretchen Lodge plays the Molly of the title. With not much money to her name, Molly and her truck-driving partner are forced to go back to her old childhood home to live. It wasn't a place where she was happy, and when strange events begin to happen, she starts to wonders if a terrible history is about to repeat itself. Sanchez still has the old Blair Witch "found footage" trick down to a T, and newcomer Lodge clearly has some star potential, but Lovely Molly lacks a certain delicious fear factor. Cineworld Glasgow Renfrew Street and Aberdeen Queens Park; Odeon Edinburgh Wester Hailes.

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Friendships and homecomings prove fertile subjects

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