BABY DONE
***
Director: Curtis Vowell
Screenwriter: Sophie Henderson
Principal cast:
Rose Matafeo
Matthew Lewis
Emily Barclay
Rachel House
Nic Sampson
Madeleine Sami
Country: NZ
Classification: M
Runtime: 91 mins.
Australian release date: 22 October 2020.
“Marriage. House. Baby. Done!” says Zoe (Kiwi comedienne Rose Matafeo) disparagingly to her partner Tim (English actor Matthew Lewis) at a pregnant friend’s celebration party. The amusing New Zealand comedy Baby Done is autobiographical to a large extent: director Curtis Vowell and screenwriter Sophie Henderson are a married couple who experienced many of the issues covered in their film when they found out that Sophie was pregnant with their first child. “My way of coping when I got pregnant was to write this film. I was terrified of becoming a mum and losing myself so [I] tried to live nine months like it was my last,” explained Henderson. “My hope is that Baby Done surprises and delights its audiences, pushing their limit of what's acceptable for a pregnant woman to do. I was not a well-behaved pregnant woman, and this is not a well-behaved film.”
Zoe and Tim are partners in life and work. They run a tree pruning and removal business that involves both of them scaling large trees and putting themselves in precarious situations involving chainsaws. She’s an adventurous woman who loves their life together and doesn’t want it to change, so when she finds out she’s in ‘the family way’ she is none too happy about it, declaring to the health worker, “Tape worm can cause false positive pregnancy tests.” Initially, she keeps the news from Tim but, when he finds out, he reacts in a completely different way to her - he’s over the moon! In denial, Zoe tries to convince her partner to tick off all the things on her bucket list before the birth, regardless of how dangerous or out there. Their relationship is put to the test when Zoe’s list gets wilder and wilder and Tim becomes increasingly cautious. Hoping to increase his enthusiasm, she tries to include her best friend, Molly (Emily Barclay), in her adventures but eventually even she can see the desperation in Zoe’s behaviour, telling her “You’re a baby… having a baby.” The question is, can the couple, who were so happy together before the pregnancy, reconcile their differences before their life is irrevocably changed?
Rose Matafeo is the best thing about Baby Done. She’s a household name in Aotearoa but in Australia is probably best known for her role as Talia in the ABC TV series Squinters. Her co-star Matthew Lewis says, “It was inspiring being on set with Rose. She thinks she’s a comedy actor, but she’s actually a very, very good actor, who happens to do comedy well too… she’s supremely talented and she carries this film effortlessly.” She certainly nails Zoe, with all her uncertainties and insecurities. Lewis is very good as her foil, too, and will be recognised by many as Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter franchise. He’s the perfect straight man to his partner’s manic character. Lovers of NZ cinema will be pleased to see the always excellent Rachel House in a humorous role as a school principal. She was last on our screens in Bellbird a few months ago.
There’s a lot to like about Baby Done but it’s not entirely consistent - the script lags in places and not all the gags are successful. The central idea, however, is spot on. We usually see the male as the reluctant one in situations like this, terrified of having his masculinity cast aside for domesticity, so it’s refreshing to have this theme turned on its head and see the role played by a female. Vowell and Henderson have obviously had fun fooling with the expectation that all women love being pregnant and having their life changed forever.
Screenwriter: Sophie Henderson
Principal cast:
Rose Matafeo
Matthew Lewis
Emily Barclay
Rachel House
Nic Sampson
Madeleine Sami
Country: NZ
Classification: M
Runtime: 91 mins.
Australian release date: 22 October 2020.
“Marriage. House. Baby. Done!” says Zoe (Kiwi comedienne Rose Matafeo) disparagingly to her partner Tim (English actor Matthew Lewis) at a pregnant friend’s celebration party. The amusing New Zealand comedy Baby Done is autobiographical to a large extent: director Curtis Vowell and screenwriter Sophie Henderson are a married couple who experienced many of the issues covered in their film when they found out that Sophie was pregnant with their first child. “My way of coping when I got pregnant was to write this film. I was terrified of becoming a mum and losing myself so [I] tried to live nine months like it was my last,” explained Henderson. “My hope is that Baby Done surprises and delights its audiences, pushing their limit of what's acceptable for a pregnant woman to do. I was not a well-behaved pregnant woman, and this is not a well-behaved film.”
Zoe and Tim are partners in life and work. They run a tree pruning and removal business that involves both of them scaling large trees and putting themselves in precarious situations involving chainsaws. She’s an adventurous woman who loves their life together and doesn’t want it to change, so when she finds out she’s in ‘the family way’ she is none too happy about it, declaring to the health worker, “Tape worm can cause false positive pregnancy tests.” Initially, she keeps the news from Tim but, when he finds out, he reacts in a completely different way to her - he’s over the moon! In denial, Zoe tries to convince her partner to tick off all the things on her bucket list before the birth, regardless of how dangerous or out there. Their relationship is put to the test when Zoe’s list gets wilder and wilder and Tim becomes increasingly cautious. Hoping to increase his enthusiasm, she tries to include her best friend, Molly (Emily Barclay), in her adventures but eventually even she can see the desperation in Zoe’s behaviour, telling her “You’re a baby… having a baby.” The question is, can the couple, who were so happy together before the pregnancy, reconcile their differences before their life is irrevocably changed?
Rose Matafeo is the best thing about Baby Done. She’s a household name in Aotearoa but in Australia is probably best known for her role as Talia in the ABC TV series Squinters. Her co-star Matthew Lewis says, “It was inspiring being on set with Rose. She thinks she’s a comedy actor, but she’s actually a very, very good actor, who happens to do comedy well too… she’s supremely talented and she carries this film effortlessly.” She certainly nails Zoe, with all her uncertainties and insecurities. Lewis is very good as her foil, too, and will be recognised by many as Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter franchise. He’s the perfect straight man to his partner’s manic character. Lovers of NZ cinema will be pleased to see the always excellent Rachel House in a humorous role as a school principal. She was last on our screens in Bellbird a few months ago.
There’s a lot to like about Baby Done but it’s not entirely consistent - the script lags in places and not all the gags are successful. The central idea, however, is spot on. We usually see the male as the reluctant one in situations like this, terrified of having his masculinity cast aside for domesticity, so it’s refreshing to have this theme turned on its head and see the role played by a female. Vowell and Henderson have obviously had fun fooling with the expectation that all women love being pregnant and having their life changed forever.