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★★★★
Directed by: Curtis Vowell
Written by: Sophie Henderson
Starring: Rose Matafeo, Matthew Lewis, Emily Barclay
Film Review by: Chris Olson
Baby Done Movie Review
A Piki Films production, Baby Done has a similar style to Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016) - likely because Taika Waititi is an EP on this along with a stellar crew of acting talent. And much like that earlier film, our central character here is on a journey through the wild. Only this time, the destination is parenthood.
Rose Matafeo plays Zoe, a badass tree surgeon with a penchant for adrenaline sports. When she finds out she's pregnant, her hopes for competing in the World Tree Climbing competition go timber, or do they? With her largely kept-in-the-dark boyfriend Tim (Matthew Lewis) in toe, the trio (if you include speck, the pair's affectionate name for their foetus), embark on a bucket list before they get the baby and they're done. As each trimester progresses, Zoe seems increasingly unable to accept her maternal fate, edging ever-closer to the airport for one last shot at glory.
Baby comedies have a spectrum: you're either in the gross-out area with Seth Rogen outings like Knocked Up and Bad Neighbours, in the middle with something endearing and charming like Juno, or boring as tepid breast milk with Life As We Know It. Baby Done feels like it would share an NCT group with mostly Junos and a stray Seth. There is nothing outlandishly offensive or disgusting here, just an honest portrayal of the anxieties and eccentricities that come when adults face the prospect of becoming parents, and it's darn funny. The swears flow, as they well should, and characters act realistically to the news rather than in a greetings card manner.
Matafeo zings with effortless humour in every scene, layering it with stark moments of emotional turmoil and heartache.
Lewis is terrific, his character offering the panicky overthinker to Matafeo’s recklessness, and he has a scene-stealing moment with a glitter cannon that nearly made me lactate with laughter. The ensemble of supporting characters are also noteworthy, from a brutally honest antenatal class teacher to a dashing pregnophile (Nic Sampson) who nearly nicks the whole movie!
Aside from a structural issue - the end of the film seems to land about two-thirds of the way through - Baby Done is a knockout indie comedy for 2021 and keenly introduces Matafeo as a bold rib-tickler on the silver screen.
BABY DONE will be in cinemas, and on digital platforms, from January 22nd 2021
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