'Babes' spares nothing, going all in for gross-out laughs about pregnancy and friendship

There is a point in maternity classes, somewhere between the introductory make-a-birth-plan information and before the map-your-route-to-the-hospital conclusion, in which they explain what actually happens during labor and delivery.

You think you know. Even after learning about it, you think you know.

You have no idea.

And that’s just from the observational perspective. From the actually-having-the-baby point of view, well, I can’t say for certain, obviously, but I can attest that it is incredibly intense and things happen that you simply can’t prepare for.

Maybe, instead of the classes, expectant parents should just be shown “Babes” instead. It answers a lot of the questions no one asks, sparing nothing. Nothing at all.

What is 'Babes' about?

Of course, it’s no instructional video. It’s a really funny movie and an exploration of friendship. It’s Pamela Adlon’s feature debut as a director (her show “Better Things” is one of the better things on TV in the last few years) and it’s written by Ilana Glazer (“Broad City”), who also stars, along with Josh Rabinowitz.

Glazer plays Eden, who meets her lifelong best friend Dawn (Michelle Buteau) for a Thanksgiving Day movie, their longstanding tradition. They grew up in Queens, where the free-spirited Eden still lives, with a yoga studio in her apartment. Dawn, a little more serious these days, is a dentist. She and her husband Marty (Hasan Minhaj) and their son have since moved to the Upper West Side. On this particular Thanksgiving, Dawn is extremely pregnant, so much so that we get a lesson in the different ways water breaks.

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Nothing if not determined, Dawn insists they stop for dinner. Things go a little screwball comedy at that point, but they make it to the hospital, eventually, and all goes well.

When Eden shows up with $500 worth of sushi after visiting hours, she’s kicked out. Eating it on the subway, she meets Claude (Stephen James), a handsome plot device (you’ll see) who she takes home. A few days and 28 home tests later, she’s pregnant.

The rest of the film unfolds with the highs and lows of pregnancy, with no anatomical stone left unturned. It’s hilarious in part because no one ever talks about it. As a bonus, it means frequent trips to Dawn’s OB-GYN, played as the most patient and bemused man on earth, albeit one with escalating hair problems, by John Carroll Lynch.

'Babes' goes beyond gross-out comedy

There’s a poignancy to Dawn and Eden’s friendship that colors the film. They are best friends but at different places in their lives. For instance, Dawn, having given birth to two children, knows what’s what, and is relentlessly pragmatic (with the exception of a mushroom-fueled mom’s night off) — and exhausted, something Eden doesn’t always recognize. Eden has a more whimsical idea about the process; she wants her delivery to have a prom theme, for instance. But there are also more serious discussions about friendship, maturity and family.

How much you enjoy all this will depend on how much you like Glazer. She’s funny, no question, and sometimes intentionally grating. But she also gives off a genuineness. Maybe she is just saying out loud what other people are thinking. (She is doing that when it comes to the physical transformation pregnancy involves.)

Maybe people ought to. Or maybe they shouldn’t.

The tension of all this tugs at the fabric of Eden and Dawn’s relationship. Adlon, at times, doesn’t transition from the pregnancy story to the friendship story as smoothly as she might — it’s not quite two movies, but occasionally, you may wish it were.

When Judd Apatow was having his moment, his films (“Superbad,” “Knocked Up,” et al.) were often described as raunchy, but with heart. That’s a pretty accurate reading of “Babes,” as well, only from a different perspective — not just that of a woman, but from someone with experience, who knows what that experience costs.

'Babes' 3.5 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Pamela Adlon.

Cast: Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau, John Carroll Lynch.

Rating: R for sexual material, language throughout, and some drug use.

How to watch: In theatres Friday, May 24.

Reach Goodykoontz at [email protected]. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Babes' review: Ilana Glazer spares no indignity in pregnancy comedy