By Joanna Orland
Babies focuses on the dilemma that a woman of a certain age inevitably faces in her life, particularly when married — to be or not to be a mother? Writer-director Lauren Miller Rogen’s script comes from a personal place, as she and husband Seth Rogen have been open and honest about their own decision to remain childless. Now putting their experiences up on the big screen with Babies, Miller Rogen opens up the discussion further, with the film being a perfect conversation starter about whether or not one wants to have a child.
‘Babies’ Asks Important Questions
After 17 years of marriage, Annie (Anna Kendrick) and Aaron (Seth Rogen) are still getting asked the question, “are you going to have kids?” Always answering “maybe,” the couple, particularly Annie, realizes they need to make a decision before the window of opportunity closes for them. As this is the biggest decision of their lives, it’s no easy feat. Conveniently, the couple gets an opportunity to take a kid for a test run as their friend Eliza (Kate Berlant) has left her husband Luke (Dan Stevens) and comes with her young daughter Eve in tow to stay with them.
Babies isn’t a classic gross-out comedy where the kids are disgusting and terrible, putting off the couple from having kids. Of course, with kids being kids, there are some disgusting moments, mostly involving poop, farts, and vomit, but they’re balanced with tender and loving moments, giving a genuine and well-rounded insight of what parenthood is like. It’s an up-close view of parenthood, while pondering if it’s something that suits the lifestyle and desires of the main character.
‘Babies’ Offers a Balanced Viewpoint and a Woman’s Perspective
Babies confronts the realities of parenthood, and gives a balanced view of what it can be like. As the couple spends time with Eve, their decision doesn’t become any clearer. There are pros and cons to parenthood, and it’s also a crapshoot — you never know what your kid will be like or what challenges you may face as a family.
Babies gives a framework for how to look at the desire to parent. It approaches it from all angles, looks at different types of families, from divorced to happy to childless to aged. It discusses other dynamics as well and looks at the whole spectrum of what makes a family.
The film also looks at chosen family as a perfectly viable option when exploring the desire to have a child. Annie and Aaron have an extended chosen family of friends, and act as surrogate aunty and uncle to their kids. There is no lack of children in their lives, so do they even need their own?
Rounding out the cast are Issa Rae as Becky and Zach Cherry as Ethan, parents of two kids with a third on the way. Whereas Eliza and Luke have two separate homes for their child, Becky and Ethan are a solid unit. Imperfections and all, they’re doting parents trying to do right by their daughters of different ages, navigating the terrible pre-teens and all the drama that comes with that. With another baby on the way, they have a child at every pertinent stage of childhood covered.
‘Babies’ Relies Too Much on Its Inner Monologue
Babies is never preachy as it takes the perspective of Annie, and keeps it to what works for her and her marriage. As she comes at the question from all angles, her viewpoint is sketched out as balanced and reasonable. She lands on an answer that works for her, and eventually doesn’t judge others for their decisions about parenthood, much as she too appreciates not being judged for hers.
While the exploration of parenthood and childlessness is executed wonderfully in the script, the construction of the film using Annie’s inner monologue is where the story suffers. While we want to know the ins and outs of Annie’s thought process as she ponders the greatest question she’ll ever face in life, she already does a pretty good job of expressing herself in conversations with her husband, friends, and father, and particularly in her final monologue to Luke’s new girlfriend (Ashley Park). In this final scene, she lays it out as plain as day how and why she’s come to the decision she has. Why do we also need to hear every thought along the way?
Voiceover almost always feels like a crutch in film, with a few exceptions. Had Babies relied on the existing dialogue Annie has in the film, and a few more insightful looks from actress Anna Kendrick, it would have come to the same conclusion and been a more impactful and less twee execution. As is, the film is light on comedy and light on drama, lessening the impact of the genuinely thoughtful conversation it’s having with the audience.
Babies is a good film with a great premise, and is an important conversation starter about the decision to have children. Coming from writer-director Lauren Miller Rogen’s personal experience, the film feels thoughtful, open, and honest as a small and intimate portrayal of what a woman inevitably goes through at a certain stage in life. There have been a number of films about the difficulties of parenthood, but finally there is a film about the difficulty of that choice, and the fact that this film exists makes it a thought-provoking watch.
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Babies
Directed by Lauren Miller Rogen
Starring Anna Kendrick, Seth Rogen, Issa Rae, Dan Stevens, Kate Berlant, Zach Cherry, Ed Helms, Ashley Park, Sharon Stone, and David Strathairn
Reviewed at TIFF 2026
