Parenthood is a topic that has been explored ad nauseum in film throughout the history of the medium. From divorce to the death of a parent to the death of a child, all aspects of raising children have been depicted onscreen. But as the world around us evolves and changes, new twists and angles on child rearing and family have arisen and are ripe for examination through cinema. Writer/director Nikole Beckwith dives headfirst into one such take on modern parenting and conception in this indie dramedy from Bleeker Street.
Together Together finds a young loner Anna (Patti Harrison) applying to serve as the gestational surrogate for Matt (Ed Helms), a single man in his 40s who wants a child. As they prepare to bring a child into the world, the two strangers come to realize this unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries, and the particulars of love.
As a comedy, Together Together provides serviceable humor that while not laugh out loud funny, does provide plenty of amusing moments with pithy exchanges and comical observations. A scene stealer in this regard is Evan Jonigkeit’s Bryce, a fellow barista who works alongside Anna. Jonigkeit nails the awkward, alt millennial personality of the character who simultaneously offers ridiculous life updates and thought provoking observations on Anna and Matt’s arrangement. Patti Harrison shines extremely brightly as Anna, sharing the emotional weight with Helms’ Matt, but offering an equally entertaining and humorous turn as a young woman wading through her past experiences and traumas while also trying to find her way to a better future.
Ed Helms’ Matt is a little annoying as a high strung, judgmental older man who lacks boundaries with his young surrogate. As the film goes on however, Matt’s story becomes a conduit for exploring the issues of growing old alone, paternal instincts, and how society treats the two. This serves as the film’s other emotional core in tandem with Anna’s past and it works somewhat well. Helms is able to create some sympathy for his character, but the script never truly rises above surface level examination of the issues into something more in-depth. Likewise with Anna’s experience as a surrogate; we hear about the struggles with her boundaries with Matt being involved and avoiding knowing too much about little “Lamp” as she and Matt come to call the fetus so that she does not become attached, but never delve too deeply into any of it. All in all, Together Together features good performances covering interesting modern issues, but stops just short of substantially commenting on them in full.
Image: Bleeker Street
