Last night, as Jon Hamm and his long-time lady-friend Jennifer Westfeldt enjoyed the flash and glamour of the Emmy Awards, their latest collaboration Friends With Kids was in final negotiations for a distribution deal with Lionsgate. It was Westfeldt, (the film’s writer/director/lead) who broke the news to Deadline saying, “The sale just closed while the Emmys were going on. We’re thrilled.”
They’re not alone. Word has it Millennium and CBS Films entered the bidding war for the hot property that boasts positive reviews (read ours here) and a buzz-building cast that includes Hamm’s Bridesmaids’ co-stars Chris O’Dowd, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, as well as Parks and Recreation’s Adam Scott (…and Megan Fox). It’s little wonder Lionsgate was eager to buy. Westfeldt suspects the comedy, which is currently screening at TIFF, could be released as soon as next Spring. Perhaps Lionsgate is hoping to follow in Bridesmaids‘ footsteps with a smashing May debut.
In Friends With Kids, Adam Scott (who is far too often relegated to supporting roles) stars opposite Jennifer Westfeldt. The pair play platonic pals who are rattled as all their friends begin having babies. They decide they’ll sidestep traditional parenthood pitfalls by having a child together – while dating other people. The rest of the aforementioned cast plays their married friends, or — in the case of Fox — envy-inspiring love interests.
Personally, I’m eager for this release as the growing trend of adult-content films has led to some genuinely daring and hilarious comedies this past year, from Bridesmaids to The Change-Up to Friends With Benefits. And it sounds like Westfeldt’s comedy could be a great start to the ever-earlier summer kick-off. Her first screenplay effort was Kissing Jessica Stein, a bi-curious rom-com adapted from her and Heather Juergensen’s acclaimed Off-Broadway play Lipschtick. It was a whip-smart comedy with heart, which is a specialty of its leading man, Adam Scott, who proved his hero chops in the wildly dark indie comedy The Vicious Kind and on the short-lived (but rightly cult-adored) Starz sitcom Party Down (currently rumored for a movie spin-off.) Couple this with a quartet of comedians who drew mad laughter in Bridesmaids, and it’s easy to get amped about this coming-soon comedy.
What interests you most about Friends With Kids?