#TIFF26: “BABIES” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore

Writer-Director Lauren Miller Rogen has created a delightful comedy about the decision every long-term couple faces: to parent or not to parent.

Happily married couple Annie (Anna Kendrick) and Aaron (Seth Rogen) have been together for 17 years. Surrounded by friends who have children, they are constantly asked, “When are you having kids?” They’ve danced with the idea but haven’t committed one way or the other. But when one of their friends moves into their place with her young daughter, they use it as a test.

Miller Rogen has pulled a lot from her own life and her long-term relationship with Rogen, resulting in a heartfelt comedy with emotional depth. We watch the deep love Annie and Aaron share. Kendrick and Rogen have a strong chemistry and their witty, authentic comedy riffs perfectly off each other. In many films consisting of similar narratives, the decision would often create a crux in the relationship. It’s refreshing that it never does in Babies. Instead, it brings the two closer together as they openly discuss all facets of one of life’s biggest decisions.

Babies is a fun crowd-pleaser that doesn’t try to hit you over the head with a moral. Regardless of what Annie and Aaron’s decision is at the end, Miller Rogen doesn’t want the audience to feel like there is a universal right or wrong. We see the many positives to being a parent, along with the struggles. Babies is more concerned with showing you how open communication can lead to a stronger bond but also deeper self-discovery.

Babies screens at TIFF ’26:

Sat. Sept 12 @ 5:30 PM at Roy Thompson Hall

Sun. Sept 13 @ 6:10 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Fri. Sept 18 @ 9:15 AM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

#SPOTTED: CLAIRE DANES IN TORONTO

Homeland Star Claire Danes was spotted out and about in Yorkville earlier today doing a quick grocery run at Pusateri’s.  Without Sunglasses and dressed in a loose-fitting blue Button-Down, Danes appears to know the area well. In 2007, I ran into  the Actress at the Four Seasons Hotel down the road, while she was here promoting Stardust.

The Golden Globe-winning Actress currently is expecting a Child with Husband of three years, Hugh Dancy, and he currently is in-town filming TV Series Hannibal alongside Mads Mikkelsen, who wowed audiences at TIFF 2012 with two Films, A Royal Affair and The Hunt.

With filming expected to wrap for Hannibal in February 2013, will this Danes-Dancy Baby be Toronto-born?

(Photo credit: Showtime)