Chicago Critics Film Fest 2024 Review: Babes

✰✰✰½​ (out of five)

Synopsis: When carefree and single Eden (Ilana Glazer) decides to have a baby on her own after a one-night stand, her friendship with childhood best friend Dawn (Michelle Buteau) faces its greatest challenge. From co-writers Ilana Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz and directed by Pamela Adlon, BABES is a hilarious and heartfelt comedy about the bonds of friendship and the messy, unpredictable challenges of adulthood and becoming a parent.

Review: Babes is an impressive work from director Pamela Adlon, bringing many laughs with it's dose of reality. How much reality hits home for humor as levity is up to individual viewer and their own personal experiences. Most of the work hits the mark, thanks to the sharp writing of Glazer, but there are still some off-target moments. I would've appreciated it more if not for the pacing affecting the sense of time, making it's running time play out a little bit much int he tooth. Tightening up would've been appreciated. The sweetness and the heart is what drives this film. Babes is greater than the sum of its parts.