Butler's Cinema Scene

Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau

“BABES” My rating: B (Hulu)

104 minutes | MPAA rating: R

Full disclosure: The first first five minutes or so of “Babes” felt so forced, so over-the-top phony that I was tempted to bail.

Glad I didn’t.

Because rather quicky Pamela Adlon’s film found its voice…or maybe I clicked into its heady mix of raunch and sentiment. Whatever…I ended up lovin’ it.

So imagine a female buddy comedy made by women, …but women with the gross-out sensibilities of Seth Rogan in “Sausage Party”/“Superbad” mode. Think “Bridesmaids” on  steroids.

Best buds Eden (Ilana Glazer) and Dawn (Michelle Buteau) have been friends since childhood.  Now they live in NYC where Eden, single, runs a yoga studio out of her apartment and Dawn, a dentist, has a hubby (Hasan Minhaj), a four-year-old, and another on the way.

The screenplay by Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz deftly and hilariously dissects the relationships on display, relishing the woke-free sensibilities of two women who’ve known each other so long they don’t hesitate to check each other for vaginal leakage. In public. (I told you it was raunchy.)

But a one-night stand with a sweet but struggling actor (Stephen James) leaves Eden pregnant. She opts to become a single mother…because of course she’ll have her soulmate Dawn to back her up, right?  

The film follows Eden  throughout her pregnancy while circumstances push her friendship with Dawn to the breaking point.  

Visually “Babes” rarely rises above the level of an ‘80s made-for-TV movie.  But Adlon — the brilliant comedic actress whose series “Better Things” belongs in the pantheon of great television — shows in her feature directing debut that brilliant sense of comic timing, along with a big heart and some deep wisdom when it comes to the ups and downs of female friendship.

The big revelation here is Glazer, an actress I don’t recall having seen before.  But, man, does she make an impression.  She oozes the New Yawk City funkiness and droll hilarity of a Fran Lebowitz.  In fact, with her frizzy black hair she looks like the Franster.

“Babes” also features a handful of recognizable faces in small but effective perfs:  Sandra Bernard, Elena Ouspenskaia, Oliver Platt and John Carroll Lynch as possibly the most lovable OB-GYN  ever depicted on celluloid.

You’ll probably hate yourself for laughing at some of the material tossed out here — there’s a discussion of bowel movements during childbirth that rivals  Jeff Daniels’ diarrhea scene in “Dumb & Dumber” — but you WILL laugh. And then probably hit the replay button.

| Robert W. Butler