Friends with Kids
| Friends with Kids | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Jennifer Westfeldt |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Jennifer Westfeldt |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Marcelo Zarvos and The 88 |
| Cinematography | William Rexer II |
| Edited by | Tara Timpone |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
Lionsgate Roadside Attractions |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Less than $10 million |
| Box office | $13 million |
Friends with Kids is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written, produced, and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, who also stars in the film. Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Edward Burns, Megan Fox and Jon Hamm also star in the film.
Jason (an advertising executive) and Julie (a charitable investment advisor), longtime best friends now in their mid-30s live in the same building in Manhattan. Not romantically involved, they are close friends with two childless married couples, the placid Alex and Leslie and the sex-obsessed Ben and Missy. During the next four years, after both couples have children, their marriages suffer. Following a chaotic birthday party for Jason at Alex and Leslie's place in Brooklyn, Jason and Julie discuss how it would be better to have children first, to 'get it out of the way' since 'time is running out', and only then meet the person that you wanted to marry. After more discussion, they decide to have a child together, despite never having had romantic feelings for each other, and then to continue to date other people, to find 'their one'. Although their friends predict disaster, Jason and Julie adjust to their new relationship with baby Joe far better than their friends had imagined.
Jason and Julie begin dating again and enter into budding relationships with young actress Mary Jane and divorced father Kurt, respectively. During a couples winter getaway in Vermont, Ben calls Jason and Julie's thought process and parenting skills into question. In the ensuing argument, Ben decries their arrangement as untenable in the long term and humiliates Missy. Jason defends his decision to have a child with Julie, saying that he loves her deeply and that she was the soundest choice of person for him to start a family with.
After returning from Vermont, Ben and Missy separate and later divorce. Shortly thereafter, at Julie's birthday dinner out (about 18 months after Joe's birth), Jason is surprised to find that she invited only him. Julie tells him that Kurt wants her to meet his children that weekend but that this new degree of commitment has made her realize that she is in love with Jason, who, along with Joe, have become her closest family. A stunned Jason tells Julie that his love for her has never been romantic and has asked Mary Jane to move in with him. Heartbroken, Julie leaves the restaurant, and soon moves out of her Manhattan apartment to Brooklyn, putting some space between herself and Jason. A few months thereafter, Jason and Mary Jane break up over their differing feelings about children, and both Julie and Jason return to dating others. Several months later, at a bar with Ben, Jason confides that he does have feelings for Julie, but that their messy split makes acting on such feelings impossible. Ben disagrees, noting the differences between his and Missy's sex-based relationship and Jason and Julie's long-lasting friendship.
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