Friends With Kids

My Rating: 3 Stars

Alright so I watched this movie a while ago actually, but I was pretty distracted when I watched it.  I saw it on NetFlix and decided to check it out again.  I will say that the writing for this movie was very good, and it was an interesting plot.  I felt as if some of it might have been a little over the top, but I myself don't have friends with kids in real life, so what do I know?  However, I will have to say, this movie was one of the best casting jobs I have seen in a while.  This is a very underrated film, but it is definitely worth watching solely based on the characters and the actors who play them.  This movie was particularly difficult for me to recast, because I am a huge fan of Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, and Adam Scott mostly, but all the actors in general. However, I still managed to find a cast that I feel like would be equally as interesting.
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The first character to cast would be Julie, who is the friend in their group who doesn't have a kid, isn't married, and lives a much different lifestyle.  She is charming, funny, cute, and is  more of a free spirit.  The role of Julie is played by Jennifer Westfeldt, who is also the writer and director of this movie.  While Westfeldt did well in this role, I have decided to go with Christina Applegate.  Applegate has dabbled in comedy, but would also be able to pull of this almost mid-life crisis type of character.

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The next character is Jason, who plays the other friend in the group who isn't married, nor does he have kids.  He is a bachelor, who can't seem to keep a relationship going for very long, and still is very young at heart.  He is younger than Julie, which is mentioned many times in the script, but he, much like Julie, also wants to have a kid.  So of course, they end up having a kid together, but are still "just friends."  The role is played by Adam Scott, and I have decided to go with Jake Johnson.  He is a pretty new actor to the scene but plays a great comedic role in New Girl, and I feel he would go well with Applegate.

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The next character to cast would be Leslie, who is already married, and has two kids.  She is a character who you can tell is very dragged down by having kids, and is constantly angry, but also loves her husband and children.  She is also a very good friend of Julie, but does not have as much time for her after having her two kids.  The role is played by Maya Rudolph, and I have chosen to go with Rashida Jones.  After seeing her in Celeste and Jesse Forever, I knew she would be perfect for this role.

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Next would be to cast Leslie's husband, Alex, who is kind of goofy, jokes around a lot and lightens the mood as well.  He is also run down by the stress of children, but Alex and Leslie definitely have the best relationship out of anyone in the movie as well.  The role is played by Chris O'Dowd, and I have chosen to go with Jason Segel.  Segel is obviously very well known, but he is perfect to play the goofy character and would be a great match with Rashida Jones as well.

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We have one more couple to cast, and the first in that couple would be Missy.  Missy is definitely not happy in her marriage but neither is her husband.  They talk about how happy they used to be, but their characters were just basing that off of the amount of sex they had, and not based on how they raise their child.  She is definitely not mother of the year, but she is still a good friend to all of them.  The role is played by Kristen Wiig, and I have chosen to go with Mary-Louise Parker.  Parker is fantastic in Weeds, and would play the bi-polar comedic character well.

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One of the last main characters to cast would be for the husband  of Missy, Ben.  Ben is also very unhappy in his relationship, and is definitely more of the asshole friend of the entire group.  You can tell that much like his wife, he is not parent of  year, but you can tell how much he cares for his friends.  The role is played by Jon Hamm, and I have chosen to go with Dylan McDermott.  I believe he can play this arrogant role well, and him and Mary-Louise Parker would do well together playing the dying relationship couple.
 
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The last two minor characters are Mary Jane and Kurt.  Mary Jane is the more long term girlfriend of Jason.  She is played by Megan Fox. I have chosen to go with Meagan Good.

And Kurt is the last character, and he plays the boyfriend of Julie in the midst of all the chaos.  He is played by Edward Burns.  I have chosen Eric Dane.
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Thanks for reading my post.  I certainly recommend checking out this movie.  The dialogue  and actors are great, and I hope you find my picks to be just as great!