BIG SCREEN: Life Happens Revieux (Rated R)

What would happen if a 20-something party girl got pregnant, chose to have the baby on her own, and remain in the house with her party buddy roommates?

Life Happens presents an interesting premise, for sure. Having been a 20-something party girl, and now a boring old married mommy, I was curious to see how these two worlds might collide on-screen.

We start off witnessing a fight over the use of the very last condom in the house, then cut to a year later, as new mommy Kim (Krysten Ritter) – who obviously lost that fight -- is struggling to redefine herself within the confines of single mommyhood. In the meantime, her roomies, Deena (Kate Bosworth), an acerbic writer, and Laura (Rachel Bilson), a flighty virgin, have very cheerfully accepted the roles of live-in babysitters. (Apparently, they are saints.) Now, Kim faces a new challenge: trying to reenter the dating scene. She meets a hot dude, omits her parental status, finds herself caught in a web of lies, her friendships begin to unravel, and both hilarity and disillusionment ensue.

Let me say, first and foremost, that this really is a delightful little cast. Talented, amusing, beautiful… they’ve got it all. Except an awesome script. It’s got some really funny moments, but it’s incredibly flawed and disjointed.

One of my biggest issues with this movie was that it seemed to borrow very heavily from the Friends tv series. Really. Almost verbatim from a couple of quite memorable Monica-and-Rachel scenarios. And while I’m certainly one who’s willing to suspend disbelief for the sake of comedy, it’s a little much to accept that this girl Kim is able to afford rent and utilities in a huge house in L.A. (and later, her own bungalow), baby expenses, car expenses, and incidentals on a DOG WALKER’S salary. Plus, the sharing of childcare is one thing, but the presence of a loud, messy, needy little being in the house seems to have barely put a crimp in the roommates’ swinging single lifestyles. Huh? Talk about fantasy!

I really wanted to like this movie because it had potential, but it just lacked focus. What was the point? A cautionary contraceptive tale? A buddy movie about the evolution of friendship as people enter new phases of life? Because either way, it never took any of the conflicts very seriously, and its portrayal of raising a baby on your own was laughable.

Sigh. Maybe I’m just old and unhip -- and too experienced with the truth about babies to appreciate Life Happens. But maybe young, hip writers should stick to what they know. “Life” hasn’t “happened” to them yet, so maybe they should go with conflicts that are less complicated than child-rearing – like boy trouble. Or Israel vs. Palestine.