Friends with Kids - B

Rated R, 107 minutes

"Friends with Kids" is the new relationship comedy that explores how you can have kids and then fall in love, in  that order. Directed, written by and starring Jennifer Westfeldt ("Kissing Jessica Stein"), it's a charming, sweet yet predictable take on testing the usual conventions of child rearing and relationships. Westfeldt is Julie and Adam Scott (from "Parks and Recreation" perfectly cast here) is Jason, the last two of a group of New York friends who haven't married and started a family. Since their other friends (including "Bridesmaids" Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Chris O'Dowd, along with Westfeldt's real-life, long-time squeeze, Jon Hamm) are moving forward, Julie and Jason, seemingly platonic BFFs, decide to have and raise a child together but still date other people. But they realize in this unconventional set up there may be deeper feelings that either of them realized. A low-key, heartfelt dramedy, "Friends with Kids" plays a little like a revisionist "Friends" episode, with Westfeldt and Scott inhabiting the Ross-Rachel storyline; you know where it will end up in the end, but there are a handful of charming moments along the way.  The biggest weakness with Westfeldt isn't her solid writing or directing, but that she is relatively untested as a lead actress; the wistful Rudolph or Wiig would've been better in the lead role. While she and Scott do exhibit some playful chemistry, Westfeldt lacks a deeper emotional focus to the carry "Friends with Kids" on her back. Overall, "Friends with Kids" is a decent rom com without any hidden messages other than think through having kids with a platonic friend. A solid, above-average effort and mildly entertaining date flick.