‘Babies’ review: Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick face a big decision in likable LA crowdpleaser

Dir/scr: Lauren Miller Rogen. US. 2026. 97mins

Writer/director Lauren Miller Rogen’s sophomore feature is principally concerned with a longtime married couple deciding whether to finally have a child. But on a deeper level, Babies explores how people learn to live with the choices they have made. Anna Kendrick gives a sensitive performance as an aspiring gallerist who wonders if she should want something more — namely, a baby, which she is assured will make her life complete. Although sometimes a tad too concerned with being an agreeable crowd-pleaser, this thoughtful comedy-drama looks at the pros and cons of parenthood from several angles, giving each side a fair hearing.

Modesty and sincerity redeem its narrative shortcomings

Premiering in Toronto, Babies  – which follows Miller Rogen’s 2018 Netflix debut Like Father – has been scooped up by Roadside Attractions and Vertical for US distribution, with a release planned for next year. The picture features plenty of appealing stars, including Seth Rogen, Issa Rae and David Strathairn. And audiences will be attracted by the breezy tone and timely subject matter, although viewers may find themselves moved by the compassionate perspective on love and family.

Happily married Los Angeles couple Annie (Kendrick) and Aaron (Rogen) have been together for nearly two decades. This does not stop those around them from repeatedly asking if they’re ever going to have kids, a major life decision that they both are ambivalent about. But then they are presented with an unexpected practice run on parenthood when one of their best friends, Eliza (Kate Berlant), splits with her husband, moving into their home with her young daughter Eve (played by twins Delaney Evans and Parker Evans). Suddenly, Annie and Aaron get to experience what raising a child is like on a daily basis.

What might be a sitcom premise quickly grows more complex once Miller Rogen (2018’s Like Father) begins to observe different aspects of Annie’s life. While her time with Eve is an important narrative element, so are Annie’s attempts to get funding for an art gallery she hopes to launch with her friend Becky (Rae), who has two children with a third on the way. And then there’s Annie’s relationship with her father Michael (Strathairn), who has watched his beloved wife — Annie’s mother — slowly drift away over the years due to Alzheimer’s. Not all of these subplots necessarily seem to relate to Annie’s motherhood uncertainty, and yet Babies gracefully connects each storyline to larger issues concerning self-fulfillment and life’s highs and lows.

Miller Rogen extends her inquisitive exploration to include Annie’s female friends, who are all battling the societal expectations put on women. Eliza wants to prove she’s over her ex while being a successful realtor, but she soon learns the difficulties single mothers face in the dating scene. Becky is an incredible mother, but her devotion to her children sometimes puts her at odds with the more independent Annie, who wants Becky to focus her energies on their potential gallery opening. Babies has immense sympathy for the age-old struggles of women who dare value career and free time over starting a family. Pointedly, it’s other women who apply the most pressure on Annie, making her worry that forgoing motherhood will be a terrible mistake.

Kendrick embodies Annie’s lifelong insecurities, often expressed through anxious voiceover as she frets about what kind of parent she would be. The Oscar-nominated actress conveys the character’s sweetness and sarcasm, but most importantly draws out Annie’s genuine wrestling regarding what will make her happy. Seth Rogen is a nice complement as the affable Aaron, who quickly comes to relish Eve’s presence, although the film is less compelling when shifting its focus to the male characters’ perspective. Miller Rogen sometimes stumbles when balancing the story’s mixture of laughs and tears, occasionally going too broad or indulging in predictable character arcs. And as lovely as Strathairn is as Annie’s grieving father, his segment of the picture feels the most extraneous.

But Babies’ modesty and sincerity redeem its narrative shortcomings. Miller Rogen is blessedly openminded in regards to her film’s central debate. Babies illustrates the unheralded pleasures of childlessness — the impromptu late-night trips to buy ice cream, the lack of parental stress — but the picture also acknowledges the massive rewards that result from raising kids. No one in Annie’s orbit has life figured out, whether it be relationships, money or an ageing parent. The film asks big questions but has the good sense to recognise that its characters do not have all the answers.