BABY DONE

★★★★

PREGNANCY HAS A HILARIOUS NEW POSTER CHILD - THANK YOU, NEW ZEALAND

THEATRICAL REVIEW
By Jess Fenton
15th October 2020

We are discovering more with each passing day that the things we thought were black and white are, in fact, not. Good and evil. Male and female. Gay and straight. None of it is simple. Humans, much like this giant rock we stand upon, are layered. Societal norms are being challenged left and right - and now it's time to put parenting and the "joy" of pregnancy in the spotlight. Despite what the overly-filtered mothers of Instagram try to tell us, there's no such thing as the perfect parent, and the roles within should no longer be defined by gender. Leave it to the Kiwis to show us the way in a hilarious new comedy.

Zoe (Rose Matafeo) is an arborist who works alongside her boyfriend Tim (yes, that Matthew Lewis, 'Harry Potter' franchise). She loves to party, has aspirations of becoming a world champion tree climber, and is sick of losing her friends to procreation. When she discovers she's pregnant, Tim is thrilled and excited, while Zoe becomes overwhelmed and afraid of losing herself to motherhood and not getting to do all the fun and adventurous things she loves to do anymore. So she devises a list of all the stuff she and Tim want to do before the baby comes. Unfortunately, the list includes completing in the World Tree Climbing Championship in Canada - the one non-negotiable item on Zoe's list - and apparent to everyone but Zoe is that she won't be able to compete in her current condition. Sadly, it's not the only thing Zoe in unaware of, as she doesn't exactly take to her impending motherhood naturally, much to the chagrin and frustration of her friends, family and especially daddy-to-be Tim.

SWITCH: 'BABY DONE' TRAILER

Marriage, house, baby, done. It's a tale as old as time. But it doesn't have to be. Every time those positive lines reveal themselves on the pee stick, fear and dread wash over before the (in some cases) joy sets in. 'Baby Done' takes those fractions of a second I'm sure every expectant mother has experienced and draws them out for all to see, take comfort in that they're not alone, and have us crack a smile and tear up all in 91 minutes. And yes, the film even rips into gender reveals - and this was filmed before one burned down half of California. It's so ahead of its time and bang on the money!

The film even rips into gender reveals - and this was filmed before one burned down half of California.

Rose Matafeo is a gorgeous flower whose comedy gold blooms before our eyes. Where has Jacinda been hiding her!? And Matthew Lewis is her perfect offsider. But make no mistake, this is Rose's film. She's so beautifully vulnerable and fun and "a bit of a dick", and she just encapsulates Zoe perfectly. Director Curtis Vowell and writer Sophie Henderson have teamed up again after 2013's 'Fantail' and have created something really special here. Hidden behind the film's utterly forgettable and void of syntax title is a comedy gem done in a way that only the New Zealanders seem to be able to do, and do so well. It will strike quite the nerve with both men and women (and everyone in-between), and will do so with a wink and a smile and many, many laughs.

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