Best friends since college, Jason (Scott) and Julie (Westfeldt) are sceptical, witty, thirty-something urban philosophers who are the only two in their circle of friends to have avoided marriage and children - instead watching on as the social lives and relationships of their friends struggled and deteriorated with the addition of kids to their marriages.

Upon reflection they decide that they actually do want children and establish a loophole to ‘beat the system’ - by having a child together, in their platonic relationship, thereby skipping over the lurid pitfalls their friends have fallen into. Both agree to share parental responsibilities equally whilst simultaneously being free to pursue other relationships.

Reminiscent of When Harry Met Sally, Friends with Kids appears to be the clichéd rom-com but goes beyond the archetypal and offers an incredibly well-observed and smart piece of comedy about the painful truths of parenthood, getting older, responsibilities and friendship. Written, produced and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, of Kissing Jessica Stein fame, the astute character development and dialogue of Friends With Kids are enhanced by an excellent cast of seasoned comedians - “Parks and Recreation” star Adam Scott, “The IT Crowd”’s Chris O’Dowd and “Saturday Night Live” Alumni, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig.

With an honest, harsh, sometimes crude, but ultimately very funny view of child rearing, Friends with Kids is an excellent balance of the gritty, down to earth realities of relationships and the schmaltzy rom-com.