Category Archives: Film Fodder

“The Booker” takes an inside look at Platinum Championship Wrestling’s beginnings

When the Platinum Championship Wrestling documentary The Booker screens at the Midtown Art Cinema at 7:15 tonight as part of the Atlanta Film Festival, it will be the world premiere of a movie that was four years in the making. In the film, director Michael Perkins of Beast OA Films and Studio 5 begins in 2008, when Stephen Platinum began his quest to make PCW an alternative to what passes for pro wrestling today. The movie concludes with 2010’s Sacred Ground: Chapter One, an event held at the Kennesaw State University Convocation Center and featuring some of wrestling’s top independent stars taking on PCW’s top talents. What’s most interesting, however, is the struggles that take place for Platinum and other PCW members as they try to make their dream a reality.

Though PCW still has a long way to go before becoming a viable alternative to mainstream wrestling, it has definitely established itself as one of the top promotions in Georgia, and one of the most active promotions in the country. Perkins and the PCW crew have plenty of reason to celebrate tonight, which is exactly what they will be doing when they head over to the Wrestling with Pop Culture Anniversary Party, which is the official Atlanta Film Festival afterparty for the screening of The Booker. A limited number of autographed copies of the film will be available on DVD, but the challenges PCW faces in the film will pale in comparison to what these guys will face at the Masquerade tonight with Monstrosity Championship Wrestling. Before you go see the movie or head to the afterparty, here’s an interview Matt Hankins, dany only and I did with Perkins on the March 19 edition of Georgia Wrestling Now about tonight’s screening and afterparty.

You’ve made some other documentaries about Motocross and other subjects. What attracted you to professional wrestling and specifically to Stephen Platinum and Platinum Championship Wrestling?

I grew up in the South and watched Joe Pedicino and Boni Blackstone every Saturday night, so I’ve always been a fan of professional wrestling. I knew Steve because he had done some voiceover work for me. I met him through some friends at Dad’s Garage and I really didn’t now about his professional wrestling background. I just knew he had a great voice and after working with him a little bit I found out more about PCW and the timing was perfect because I was really looking for something I could spend a couple of years on. Steve said, “Yeah, I’m getting my wrestling school back together” one day and I said, “Hey, I could make a documentary about that.” He was probably just humoring me at that point, thinking, “Tthere’s no way this guy’s going to stick around.” We were filming for about four years, but he was really good about keeping a dialogue and letting me know what was happening. It just kept rolling until I decided that Sacred Ground: Chapter One would be a good stop for us to cap our story. I really think about the movie itself as an origin story of PCW and Steve chasing his dream of being a big wrestling promoter and actually doing something that’s good.

Stepehen Platinum reaches his breaking point in "The Booker"

The Booker was shot entirely in black and white. Why did you decide to shoot it that way?

The decision to go with black and white for the movie was made about a year into filming. The way we shot the film was a very fly-on-the-wall style. We couldn’t set up a lot of lights because the camera was moving around all the time and a light on the top of the camera was deemed to be too invasive to get the wrestlers to forget about the camera. With so much of the action in our film being in dark or under-lit rooms, we knew that we were going to have to bump up the light in post. This can be done with color footage, but after doing a few tests in black and white we were really blown away by the contrast and grain that we could achieve. That, coupled with the fact that pro wrestling is a seedy business made even more evident in black and white, helped us really hone in on the look that we wanted for the film.

You recently returned to Academy Theatre after an absence of a few months. Now that Empire Wrestling is in charge, how do you think things have changed since you finished the movie?

I saw a lot of new faces. There’s a constant turnover of people coming in and out, people getting injured. That’s the biggest thing I’ve noticed, especially since Empire, but even since Sacred Ground: Chapter One. I go in and I’m like, “Hey, who’s this guy. Wow. I wish you had been around a few years ago.” And there are people that aren’t there anymore that I miss seeing. Overall, it’s just getting better. It’s grown a lot, the stories get more complex and when you add in the Surrealists, you’re not getting anything like that in any other wrestling promotion. I think it’s going in the right direction and one day the right guy is going to see that promotion and go, “You know what? With a couple of dollars, this thing could be huge.” The content is there, the ideas are there and, I don’t know about you, but I love seeing these tiny dudes wrestle, I love to see the big tubby guys wrestle. That’s what it was when you go back to the NWA and the World Championship Wrestling that I watched in the ’80s. Now everything is just big musclebound guys with spray-on tans that use their real names. But in PCW you never know what you’re going to get.

There are scenes in The Booker that really give you an unprecedented look backstage. Have you had any negative feedback from the wrestling community seeing that some people are still very protective of what goes on backstage?

Again, I think you’ve got to go back to PCW being a unique atmosphere. I don’t think I would have gotten that level of access at another promotion because of … the idea of carrying a story all the way through to the parking lot when you’re getting in your car. But I haven’t really gotten any blow-back from that. Most of the wrestling journalists I’ve talked to have been very positive. I think that barrier had been broken already with Beyond the Mat, where they spent a lot of time with Jake Roberts and Mick Foley. That wall had kind of been broken, people knew what was going, so there hasn’t really been any kind of push-back. At least none voiced to me. I’ve had many other critiques and criticisms about the movie, but none of it has been anyone saying, “How could you let the public in on our secret?” Everybody knows it’s a show, but that doesn’t take away from the physicality and theatrics that are involved.

Why is Jay Fury wearing a Warhorse outfit? I guess he just does that when he plays chess with Geter.

That was one of the things that was really nice about working with the folks at PCW was that I explained to them what I was trying to do. I’m not Michael Moore, I don’t want to make you look dumb, I want to talk about this as an art form. I think once they saw that, and saw that I kept coming back show after show, they realized, “OK. This guy’s for real. This isn’t ‘gotcha’ journalism.” But it took nine months to a year of being around before the wrestlers really started to open up to me. And that was a watershed moment. I remember coming back from a shoot at Sam Stone Studios and my wife was like, “How’d it go?” And I said, “People actually opened up to me tonight.” After people really started interacting with me, it became a lot more fun and a lot more enlightening.

You were there so often you must have had a ton of footage that wasn’t used. Will we see any of that in an extended DVD release?

I think we had 63 hours of footage that had to be cut down to an hour and a half. During that process, me and my editor, Alex Williams, said, “Let’s just put the movie together however we want to put it together, then we’ll cut back.” After our first round of editing, we were at about an hour and 57 minutes. So entire sections of the movie were cut out because we’re trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible and get it down to a reasonable amount of time. The hope is that when we sell it to a distributor, we can put some of that on as extras. And if in five years this movie has a cult following, I can come out with all the extra footage. But starting out, we wanted to make it where pro wrestling fans would like it and appreciate it, but also where my mom could watch it and go, “Oh, this is an interesting story about an interesting guy.”

The title of the movie is rather striking, especially to wrestling fans. How did you decide on that name?

My editor and I were just kind of looking at each other going, “What the hell are we going to call this thing?” We had been going with the working title of PCW Movie, but that doesn’t sell. So we brainstormed for a couple of weeks and I happened to be cleaning up the office one day and[came across] the second tape I ever shot at Steve’s house. It was labeled “The Booker” and I thought, “Wait a second. That’s a great idea!” But it just goes to further prove the point that we started out with “This is going to be about Steve and about booking wrestling,” then it morphs into people who are doing wrestling, then when you finally get into editing everything down, it’s back to what it originally was.

The Sexual Side Effect herself hosts the Wrestling with Pop Culture Anniversary Party

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As the androgynous front woman for the glammy post-punk band The Sexual Side Effects, Amber Taylor is known for her over-the-top persona, even when she’s not performing. Though her attention-grabbing antics certainly haven’t hindered the band’s success, The SSEs mission to bring back the showmanship of such ’70s rock bands as David Bowie and T. Rex, while throwing in elements of dream pop, ’90s college rock and hints of goth, has also helped the band make a bang over the past year or so. Having performed high profile slots at Atlanta Pride Festival, the East Atlanta Strut and it’s own Gilded Trash events at the Masquerade, the band recently caught the attention of award-winning TV director Michael A. Simon, who has worked on such shows as VH1 Storytellers, Rock Star: INXS and Survivor. Simon directed the video for “Aurora,” off the band’s recent High Maintenance EP, which is still in post-production.

Though “Aurora” isn’t quite ready to shine, the band has another video premiering at the Atlanta Film Festival Music & Film Experience March 29. But before that happens, Amber will be hosting the Wrestling with Pop Culture Anniversary Party tonight, adding even more freak show spectacle to an event that already features Monstrosity Championship Wrestling, luchador body painting and the LEGO-headed Death is a Dialogue. Amber and I got drunk a few days ago and had this conversation in front of the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club.

Tell me about the video that will be premiering at the Atlanta Film Festival.

The “All She’ll Ever Hurt” is in the Atlanta Film Festival’s music video competition. It’s a really cool video that was partially filmed at the East Atlanta Strut and at Encyclomedia. It’s directed by David Joseph and it’s all about authentic rock ‘n’ roll and it’s a real video, unlike a lot of videos. It will play during our performance on Thursday, March 28 at the Goat Farm.

The event at the Goat Farm is all music videos with many of the band

Amber Taylor (front) of The Sexual Side Effects hosts the Wrestling with Pop Culture Anniversary Party!

s performing. Tell me a little more about that show.

As far as I know, this is the first year the Atlanta Film Festival has had live musical performances involved in the festival. The event at the Goat Farm is going to be music day, where they’ll have two different stages and six or seven different bands. We’re the last band on our stage and there’s other stuff on the other stage, as well as an area that will be playing the music videos for each band that’s involved. We also did some interviews with Dubious.org about the video and that might be playing as well.

The night before that you’re hosting a pretty special Atlanta Film Festival event that will involve monster wrestling and other festivities.

There’ll be freaks and weirdos, thanks to me. Then there will be wrestlers and rock ‘n’ roll. After thinking about what wrestling and rock ‘n’ roll have in common with each other and what it relates to in our culture, I have surmised that it needs more freaks.

Wrestling was originally a sideshow attraction, which might be why you are part of this event.

And that’s exactly what I hope to bring to it. I hope to beef out the freak side of things. I’d also like to announce right now, publicly, that I’m going to officially run for president. My campaign slogan is, “Amber Taylor for president: a sex change you can believe in.” We’ll definitely have campaign shirts going sometime near the election. I vote to not D) vote for none of the above but to E) vote for Amber, a sex change you can believe in. I’ve also been informed that we have direct competition within the band. Our bass player, who is unofficially known as Manwhore, is also running for president. Either of us could do a better job than anyone else.

Why don’t you run on the same ticket?

Eh. No. There can only be one lead singer. And we could only make one cool shirt, when there are two cool shirts in this scenario. There’s “Manwhore for president” and there’s “Amber Taylor: a sex change you can believe in.” If the drummer can come up with something cool, we’ll make a cool shirt for him, too. Running for president is all about the cool shirts.

For more information, go to www.thesexualsideeffects.com.

Upstream swim spawns inspirational comedy in “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”

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Fishing for salmon in the desert sounds ridiculous to Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor).

Does fishing for fresh water salmon in the dry climates of Yemen sound impossible to you? Well, Ewan McGregor would emphatically agree, at least at first. In Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, McGregor plays Alfred Jones, a British expert on fishing who seems to have about as much emotion and enthusiasm as the creatures he studies. After receiving an email from Harriet (Emily Blunt) about a project to make fly fishing a reality in the middle of the desert, Alfred brushes it off without much consideration. But when the idea flows past Prime Minister’s vivacious press secretary (Kristin Scott Thomas), who is desperately looking for some positive press from the Middle East, Alfred soon finds himself meeting with a worldly sheik (Amr Waked) determined to make this far-fetched idea a reality.

Jones is reluctantly forced to begin work on the project, gradually realizing that it’s not only doable, but could actually prove to be a thriving prospect for ailing area. With his miserable marriage falling apart, venturing out into the desert to make the impossible a reality becomes a comforting escape. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he’s working closely with the alluring Emily Blunt, who is need of some comforting of her own when it seems her boyfriend won’t be returning from the war.

Initially adversaries, Harriet (Emily Blunt) and Alfred (Ewan McGregor) become unlikely partners.

The whole thing soon gets a good bit of media attention and financial backers, but not everyone is so enthusiastic as some of the militant natives see this project as a betrayal on the sheik’s part and set out to sabotage the whole thing. Despite attempts on the sheik’s life and other setbacks, director Lasse Hallström manages to keep things lighthearted, giving a sense of humorous hope throughout the film. Once unlikely allies, Alfred and Harriet growing more and more fond of each other as they journey up the proverbial stream together in this inspiring journey rife with resistance.

Even when things seem on the brink of success, for the fish as well as in Alfred and Harriet’s personal lives, they are forced to overcome even greater odds than they first imagined as everything they’ve spwaned professionally and personally gets washed away (metaphorically and literally). As he’s done with previous films like Chocolat and Dear John, Hallström finds ways to keep hope alive even when all seems lost. Though it’s not a Hollywood happy ending for everyone, Salmon Fishing offers a believable look at overcoming life’s obstacles, no matter how impossible they might seem.

Salmon Fishin in the Yemen. Directed by Lasse Hallström. Starring Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Kristin Scott Thomas and Amr Waked. Rated PG-13. www.fishingintheyemen.com.

“The Hunger Games” borrows heavily from other stories to satisfy sci-fi appetites

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Sometimes new pop culture trends slip right by while I’m busy watching wrestling and stuff. Such is the case with The Hunger Games, the new film based on the first book in a trilogy of novels by Suzanne Collins.

Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) takes aim in “The Hunger Games.” Photo by Murray Close

Apparently these books appeal to the same tween audience as the Harry Potter and Twilight books, both of which also became pop culture phenomenons before I had even figured out what they were about (I still haven’t had a chance to see any of the Twilight movies). But I’m actually glad I didn’t know that before seeing The Hunger Games because I saw similarities to various other stories playing out on the screen.

Set in a dystopian America segregated into 12 concentration camp-like districts, the titular games are a perverse way for The Capitol (the movie’s Orwellian governing group, which employs elaborate costumes and grooming to further elevate itself from the commoners) to entertain itself while maintaining control over the populous. It’s basically the same concept as 1987’s The Running Man and 1975’s Death Race 2000, only instead of using convicts in this kill-or-be-killed cross between a game show and reality TV, a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 is chosen from each district to “play.”

Contestants are then placed in a wilderness setting where they have to first obtain their chosen weapons, then fend for themselves when it comes to food and survival. The only way to win this Darwinian game is to be the sole survivor. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), who has been the lynchpin for her family since her father died a few years earlier, volunteers to represent her district after the Mad Hatter-esque Elizabeth Banks announces that Katniss’ younger sister has been chosen. She’s paired with Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), which causes a bit of tension from the beginning since Katniss is leaving her sort-of boyfriend (Liam Hemsworth) behind.

Starting with the elaborate opening ceremonies and carrying over into the absurdly posh talk show segments that precede the games, Peeta makes his feelings for Katniss known, but it’s not clear if he is being sincere or if he is just trying to keep the show interesting. Either way, the two must soon fend for themselves against those chosen from the other districts, as well as the Big Brother-like overseers who are able to do things like insert giant pitbull-like creatures into the vaguely Matrix-like setting in order to keep the world watching.

Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) announces Katniss’ admission to the Games. Photo by Murray Close

The Hunger Games does a great job of displaying the brutality that can come when people (especially adolescents) are placed in such cut-throat conditions. Alphas take charge, alliances form and boundaries are created as each teen fights for survival, or for the glory that comes with winning the game. Under the surprisingly astute guidance of Haymitch Abernathy (a drunkenly flamboyant Woody Harrelson) and stylist Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), Katniss refuses to play by the rules, which does not please The Capitol (especially after it has assisted her a couple of times by sending a magical salve that makes people heal as fast a Wolverine).

From what I understand, this is all eerily reminiscent of the 1999 Japanese novel Battle Royale. Like Harry Potter and Twilight, that’s another book/film I have yet to experience. Though I can’t attest to its similarities to these stories, I can say that The Hunger Games does borrow heavily from the aforementioned The Running Man and Death Race 2000, as well as 1984, Brave New World, Mad Max and, to a lesser degree, Romeo and Juliet, both thematically and visually. So regardless of its inspirations, The Hunger Games is more than just a showcase of pretty people (though that is definitely part of its appeal). And it’s sure to appeal to teenagers crushing over the film’s young stars as well as sci-fi fans who like a bit of substance with their futuristic stories.

The Hunger Games. Directed by Gary Ross. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks. Rated PG-13. www.thehungergamesmovie.com.

“21 Jump Street” puts a Hill-arious spin on teen cop show

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It’s inevitable that a lot of people are going to hate this new 21 Jump Street movie simply because it’s such a departure from the late ’80s/early ’90s TV show on which it is based. And I’ll admit I went into it with somewhat low expectations for that very same reason. But to my surprise and delight, 21 Jump Street is hilariously clever and entertaining, with enough nods to the original series to keep at least some fans happy.

Of course with Jonah Hill starring, you know it’s going to be amusing. But one of the major complaints about this take on 21 Jump Street is that, unlike the TV show, it’s a comedy. But the fact that the movie openly acknowledges that it is rehashing an old idea and cashing in on an established franchise is exactly what makes it work. It’s not a remake, but a sequel, with former high school nerd Morton Schmidt (Hill) and his hunkier counterpart Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) reluctantly teaming up while training to become cops. After they prove to be incompetent officers, even as bicycle cops patrolling a park, the duo is reassigned to the secret Jump Street project, which still operates out of the abandoned church from the TV show.

Under the guidance of Ice Cube, who plays a stereotypically angry black police captain who, again, openly acknowledges that he is filling such a stereotypical role for comedic effect, Schmidt and Jenko are sent back to high school to find out who is dealing a lethal new drug called HFS (which stands for “Holy fucking shit” thanks to the hilariously hallucinogenic effect it has on the high schoolers consuming it). But a lot has changed since Schmidt and Jenko last walked high school halls, and a bit of role reversal takes place thanks to the fact that tree huggers, homosexuals and academic achievers are now the cool crowd and dumb jocks no longer rule the popularity hierarchy.

It doesn’t take long for both of them (especially Schmidt) to get sucked back into the high school life and try to catch up the things they might have missed out on the first time around. As a result, the bumbling duo continues to screw up, eventually getting them expelled and making Capt. Cube angry enough to kick them off the case. Continuing to follow in the cop caper formula, it’s after they are kicked off the force that they start to get big breaks in the case, giving them an opportunity to redeem themselves and prove that they can become good cops. But not without a few more mishaps, some silly self discovery and a couple of clever cameos that tie everything back in to the 21 Jump Street of old.

21 Jump Street is clearly not what fans of the TV show might be wanting or expecting. But since that would have been a difficult undertaking in itself, the film ultimately benefits from putting its own comical spin on things while simultaneously acknowledging its original audience.

21 Jump Street. Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Starring Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Dave Franco and Rob Riggle. Rated R. www.21jumpstreet-movie.com.

WWE Studios’ “Bending the Rules” just isn’t Edge-y enough

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Having set records such as his 12 WWE Tag Team Championships and seven World Heavyweight Championships in WWE, Adam “Edge” Copeland is clearly deserving of his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame this WrestleMania weekend. And with his unexpected retirement from wrestling less than a year ago, it’s only fitting that Edge take his charisma to the big screen as peers such as The Rock, John Cena, Triple H and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin have done before him.

Nick Blades (Edge) and Theo Gold (Jamie Kennedy) team up in "Bending the Rules"

Edge makes his leading role debut in the new WWE Studios movie Bending the Rules, in select theaters today and on DVD and Blu-ray March 27. In this comedy cop caper, Edge plays Nick Blades, a New Orleans cop known for bending the rules to get the job done. Jamie Kennedy is Theo Gold, the down-on-his-luck District Attorney on the opposing side of the courtroom. In what is supposed to be a comical twist of fate, these two opposing forces become an odd couple who, despite their differing motivations and methods, are determined to get to the bottom of some sort of crime racket.

See, there’s this list of license plate numbers and someone is going down that list and taking out the owners of the vehicles. Somehow Gold’s beloved 1956 Studebaker Silver Hawk comes up missing, presumably because it is on this list. Blades hangs out with Gold’s mom (played by Jessica Walter, who is basically reprising her overbearing and self-entitled mother role from Arrested Development), Gold’s assistant (Alicia Witt) gets kidnapped, some gunfights break out and funniness fails to ensue.

It’s not that Bending the Rules is a bad movie. It’s just that it’s also not that great. Edge is basically playing Edge, but for some reason the charisma he portrays when talking to in-ring opponents doesn’t come across very well here. Jennifer Esposito plays his friend on the force, and she looks damn good in that blue uniform. But for some reason all of these ingredients don’t seem to gel, perhaps because Bending the Rules follows the rules of an action comedy too lazily. There is an attempt at a surprise twist at the end of the movie, but by that point it’s hard to even care about anything that’s happening anymore. And ironically, the Rated R Superstar only got a PG-13 rating.

Bending the Rules. Directed by Artie Mandelberg. Starring Adam “Edge” Copeland, Jamie Kennedy, Jennifer Esposito and Jessica Walter. Rated PG-13. www.bendingtherulesmovie.com.

“Friends with Kids” finds comedy in the tragedy of early-midlife mistakes

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Given the fact that my friends and I often have a hard time relating to the plights of the common man, given our superhuman abilities and all, it’s easy for me to forget what the average person’s worries are. I mean, when you’re busy saving the world and pummeling opponents in the ring, you don’t have much time to think about things like settling down and having babies.

Alex (Chris O'Dowd), Missy (Kristen Wiig), Leslie (Maya Rudolph) and Ben (Jon Hamm) share an elevator in "Friends with Kids." At least they're not sharing a baby.

That John Carter guy is someone I can relate to, but this new Friends with Kids movie is about as foreign to me as a four-armed Martian would be to you. So what happens is these three couples have been friends for several years. Leslie and Alex (Maya Rudolph and Chris O’Dowd) and Missy and Ben (Kristen Wiig and Jon Hamm) get married, have kids and become miserable. Jason and Julie (Adam Scott (not Tom Cruise, as I first suspected) and Jennifer Westfeldt) aren’t actually a couple, but have been close friends since college. Neither one of them seems to be good at relationships (well, Jason gets some hotties, but they never stick around for long, and neither of them wants to end up as unhappy as the two couples that got married.

A drunken late night joke about Jason and Julie having a baby without the constraints and expectations of a romantic relationship turns into, well, Jason and Julie having a baby without committing to a romantic relationship with one another. In fact, they both encourage each other to date other people, taking turns babysitting their offspring so the other can maintain a social life. Sounds like just the broken home recipe to spawn my next supervillain!

The other two couples are, at first, insulted, then shocked to see that Jason and Julie’s plan actually seems to be working. Julie starts dating a wonderful guy named Kurt (Edward Burns) and Jason’s latest little fling (Megan Fox) lasts longer than anyone is used to. But as Jason and Julie get more and more involved with their significant others, they expect more and more from each other in terms of taking care of the baby. They also start to exhibit signs of jealousy, implying that their feelings for each other might be stronger than either of them would like to admit. I think there was a TV show in the ’80s called thirtysomething that was similar to this, but I’m not certain of that.

Leslie (Maya Rudoplh) and Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) prepare for another group gathering in "Friends with Kids."

Anyway, as their plan finally seems to start unraveling a little, the other two couples find relief in the fact that Jason and Julie may join them in their middle-aged mediocrity (misery loves company, after all). Everything eventually falls apart for everyone involved, which is when Friends with Kids actually starts to get interesting. I’ve heard about the complexities of many human relationships, where figuring out what you need versus what you desire is a difficult task. It’s just such a conflict that I found intriguing with this film.

From what I understand, friends with benefits and open relationships rarely work for the average person. But the situation with Jason and Julie is even more complicated than that, especially when one of them expresses a desire for something to pursue something more than platonic with the other, only to be denied. That kind of emotional pain is not something Flash Gorem is accustomed to, but it seems as if it is even harder to overcome than physical pain. I’ve heard a saying about not knowing what you’ve got till it’s gone, and that definitely becomes the case when the denier later realizes what got away (especially after things don’t work out with the new significant other).

At first, I really hated the seemingly happily-ever-after ending of this dramedy. Then I realized it may not be such a happy ending after all. If the decisions that have been made by all three couples previously in the movie are any indication, it’s highly likely that any new decisions (especially those driven by mixtures of emotion, lust and regret) could be even bigger mistakes. And with a conclusion like that, Friends with Kids is a somewhat unsettling look at people’s desperate attempts to find happiness as they feel their biological clocks ticking away.

Friends with Kids. Written and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt. Starring Jennifer Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Kristen Wiig, John Hamm, Maya Rudoph, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox and Edward Burns. Rated R. www.friendswithkids.com.