Ilana Glazer
Eden
Overview
After getting pregnant from a one-night stand, a single woman leans on her married best friend and mother of two to guide her through gestation and beyond.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
Brent Marchant
How disappointing it is when you see a movie that you were looking forward to only to walk away unimpressed, if not largely disappointed. So it is with director Pamela Adlon’s debut feature, a comedy-drama about the wild and crazy relationship between two lifelong thirtysomething New York BFFs (Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau) who share the experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood while struggling to maintain the kind of free-spirited friendship they had before becoming mothers. The narrative consists of a series of vignettes – some outrageous, some touching, some serious – involving various aspects of their connection, their individual lives and their interactions with others. Unfortunately, these episodes are wildly inconsistent, regardless of their nature. Some work well (especially, surprisingly enough, those that get unapologetically down and dirty with unbridled raunchy humor), but most others fall stunningly flat for a variety of reasons. The biggest problem here is the writing, which frequently tries far too hard to make the material work. Some segments simply aren’t funny, relying on excessive exhausting mugging and overacting to win over audience members and unsuccessfully persuade them otherwise. Others are utterly preposterous and implausible (despite trying to come across as “zany” or “outrageous”), lacking credibility in terms of plot devices, character development and story flow. And others still are just plain inauthentic, particularly when driven by the strained chemistry between the two often-immature leads, whose supposed bond simply isn’t convincing. What’s more, when the film unsuccessfully tries to turn serious, scenes that are supposed to move and touch viewers don’t work, because the film doesn’t do enough to engender sufficient interest in the protagonists, their challenges or their relationship with one another. To its credit, the film features some fine performances by supporting cast members (John Carroll Lynch, Stephan James, Elena Ouspenskaia), but the leads grow progressively tiresome, especially the longer the movie drones on. In short, “Babes” is a big misfire that fails to deliver despite a few modest laughs along the way. Best bet for this one? Wait for it to come to streaming.
Read full reviewCinemaSerf
The about to give birth "Dawn" (Michelle Buteau) is married to the perfectly manscaped "Marty" (Hasan Minhaj) and is best friends with "Eden" (Ilana Glazer) who is keen on having a baby but so far lacks a suitable sperm donor. That all changes, though, when she encounters the charming "Claude" (Stephan James) on the train and, thinking her period is sure fire protection against getting pregnant, they have some fun. She is smitten, but he disappears without a trace and she just chalks it up to experience. A few months later, though, she gets quite a shock and what now ensues sees the friendship she has with "Dawn" quite seriously tested, yada yada. There's nothing new to this at all, and after the first twenty minutes of serious over-acting and a scene where a waiter concerned that the amniotic fluid leaking over the floor of his restaurant might not be that hygienic - and it designated a "woman hater", the stall was set out for this frankly quite puerile attempt at comedy. It's structured just as if it's a couple episodes of a mediocre sitcom interspersed by a stand-up routine style narrative from writer Glazer that rehashes a tired girl-power mentality that stopped being funny thirty years ago. I didn't care if their friendship worked or didn't: there's no effort to develop the characters and frankly I'm not surprised "Claude" took an early bath from these proceedings. I'm not really a fan of these buddy-comedies that take a relationship that supposedly works, break it, then try to put "Humpty" together again for the sake of an ending we could all see from space, and this is another off a conveyor belt completely devoid of originality.
Read full reviewLouisa Moore - Screen Zealots
I wish Hollywood would give us more movies like “Babes,” a female-driven comedy that doesn’t hold back. Directed by Pamela Adlon and co-written by Ilana Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz, this outrageous look at pregnancy, motherhood, and female friendship is absolutely hilarious. The humor here is raw, crass, and completely unapologetic, which makes it hard not to laugh at the absurdity of it all, even when the subject matter gets pretty uncomfortable. Childhood best friends Eden (Glazer) and Dawn (Michelle Buteau) are navigating very different stages in life. Eden is single and really wants to have a baby, and she decides to go it alone after a one-night stand leaves her pregnant. Meanwhile, Dawn is juggling motherhood, work, and the exhaustion that comes with it. Their bond is tested when Eden’s decision to pursue pregnancy on her own shakes up their friendship in unexpected ways. This isn’t a film where you have to be a parent to “get” the humor, as it’s surprisingly universal. The dialogue is loaded with crude jokes and one-liners, from the constant use of swear words to the endless references to bodily functions. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. But through all the vulgarity and awkward moments, the heart of the movie lies in the beautiful mess of this tried and true friendship, one that’s as flawed as it is powerful. Eden and Dawn have a bond that’s full of love, support, and a lot of really questionable decisions (like doing mushrooms to solve pregnancy problems). What really stands out is how the film explores the complexities of camaraderie and motherhood with a surprising amount of tenderness. These two women are deeply supportive of each other, even when things get chaotic. Dawn’s role as a mom is exhausting but relatable, and Eden’s decision to embrace single motherhood on her own terms is refreshing and inspiring, even if it’s a bit over-the-top at times. There’s a solid message about how family isn’t just about your shared DNA, but more about the people who stick with you through thick and thin. An offbeat comedy with a huge heart, “Babes” is about accepting flaws and embracing the messiness of life. By: Louisa Moore / SCREEN ZEALOTS
Read full reviewAudience Opinions
Audience 6.5/10
"A messy but heartfelt pregnancy comedy powered by warm lead chemistry and frank gross-out honesty, undercut by uneven laughs and shaky plotting."
The central friendship and performances, especially from Michelle Buteau, come through as funny, touching, and believably messy, and the film’s unvarnished look at pregnancy, bodies, and shifting priorities hits home for many. Others find the script clunky and illogical, the tone lurching between heavy drama and raunch without much finesse, and the comedy either too reliant on bodily fluids or simply not funny enough to justify how far it goes.
What viewers praise
- Believable best-friend dynamic The relationship between Eden and Dawn feels lived-in and emotionally real, giving the story a strong emotional core even when the plot wobbles.
- Michelle Buteau standout Buteau is frequently singled out as stealing scenes, balancing big laughs with convincing vulnerability and stress as a new mother.
- Frank pregnancy realism The film leans into the scary, gross, and unglamorous side of pregnancy and postpartum, which some find refreshingly honest and relatable.
- Raunchy, energetic humor Broad City–style raunch and rapid-fire jokes, including a wild drug-trip sequence and running gags, land well for viewers attuned to that sensibility.
- Female-centered perspective The story stays tightly focused on women’s bodies, choices, and friendships, which feels like a fresh angle on the familiar pregnancy-comedy template.
Common complaints
- Hit-or-miss comedy A significant chunk of the audience finds the movie not very funny, with some set-pieces drawing only a few chuckles and bodily-fluid gags coming off as gross rather than witty.
- Overused and frustrating tropes The storyline about an ill-equipped person having a baby anyway and treating abortion as an agonizing taboo choice feels tired or even irritating to some viewers.
- Clunky, illogical plotting Questions around how characters afford their lifestyles, as well as an abrupt and unconvincing exit for the love interest, make the story feel contrived.
- Jarring tonal shifts The movie swings between heavy emotional material and cartoonish gross-out gags in ways that can feel disjointed and poorly balanced.
- Underused supporting players Notable actors in the ensemble, including one seasoned character actor, appear so briefly or blandly that their presence feels wasted.
Recommended for
Female friendship dramedy fans Broad City style comedy lovers Raunchy pregnancy-comedy seekers Michelle Buteau admirers Messy millennial adulthood stories NYC-set contemporary comedies
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBABES (2024): The Surprisingly Wholesome Comedy With Almost No Messy Behind-the-Scenes Drama
If you came here expecting Babes to have “Don’t Worry Darling”-level chaos, brace yourself: the juiciest twist is that this raunchy pregnancy comedy was made by… extremely functional adults. Still, the internet has coughed up enough morsels of real-life tea, identity revelations, and fan drama to keep any Broad City babe entertained.
On-Set Vibes & Creative Chaos
- Trade outlets and interview coverage paint Babes as a very loose, improv-happy set. Variety notes that the film “involves a fair amount of improvisation” in its scenes, which some critics later argued made the final cut feel messy and uneven
. - One Substack reviewer complained the movie was “much-too-improvised,” implying that the playful, riff-heavy style behind the scenes may have bled into a slightly chaotic structure on screen [1]. Fans on Reddit echoed this, saying scenes “clunk into each other without much rhyme or reason”
. - Rather than reports of fights or meltdowns, interviews emphasize how supported the leads felt by director Pamela Adlon. She’s repeatedly described as an “actor’s director” who gives very specific notes but leaves room for the cast to play [1]. So the behind-the-scenes mood? More “comedy camp” than “war zone.”
Cast Feuds & Friendship Tea
- Sorry, drama-hunters: Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau are not faking that ride-or-die energy. They’ve been real-life best friends for about 20 years, long before Babes was a glimmer in Neon’s eye .
- Coverage from Forbes and other outlets leans hard into how much their real friendship powers the movie’s chemistry, describing them as “real-life best friends with babies” whose dynamic basically is the movie [4].
- Instead of feuding in the press, they go on talk shows and gush about each other’s talent, motherhood, and the joy of finally making a film that lets them be gross, loud, and honest together [4][5]. It’s giving “mutual admiration society,” not “secret enemies.”
Romance Rumors & Identity Reveals
- No on-set hookups, no co-star affairs, no quiet divorces triggered by filming. The romantic drama is all onscreen.
- What did make headlines was Ilana Glazer using the Babes era to publicly articulate their gender identity. In multiple interviews, Glazer said their own pregnancy helped them realize they are nonbinary (often phrased as a “non-binary woman”), and that being pregnant clarified how they felt in their body .
- outlets like Them and BuzzFeed highlighted how Glazer poured the “hilarious, personal details of pregnancy” into Babes while also coming out more publicly about their gender identity during the same period [6].
- Page Six picked this up as a celeb story in its own right, framing it as Glazer explaining how their pregnancy journey helped them realize they’re nonbinary [7].
- Fans on LGBTQ+ subreddits discussed Glazer’s labels and quotes, sometimes debating what “non-binary woman” means, but this was thoughtful discourse, not scandal .
Scandals & Controversies (Such As They Are)
- The only actual controversy orbiting a Babes cast member is Hasan Minhaj’s long-running fallout from The New Yorker exposé about “emotional truths” and embellishments in his stand-up stories. That story — which he’s addressed multiple times — reportedly cost him a near-final offer to host The Daily Show .
- This drama, however, is about Minhaj’s comedy career and reputation, not the film’s production. There’s no reporting that Babes itself was impacted.
- Some critics and viewers took issue with the film’s tone and structure. Threads on Reddit describe Babes as “boring, unimaginative, and inconclusive,” with one fan saying they “wouldn’t recommend it even for free” despite being hyped beforehand [2]. That’s audience backlash, not a scandal, but the divide between glowing press and annoyed fans definitely fueled online discourse.
Leaks, Deleted Scenes & Fan Speculation
- There are no substantial reports of script leaks, test-screening drama, or big deleted scenes for Babes. No leaked alt-ending on TikTok. No “studio butchered my movie” op-eds.
- What exists instead are fan theories and frustrations. On Reddit and in smaller film circles, a few viewers speculate that the movie feels like parts were cut — especially around certain emotional arcs — but this is pure fan speculation, not confirmed by Adlon or Neon [1][2].
- The lack of any real leak or behind-the-scenes blowup actually became a kind of meta-joke among fans: a filthy, gory pregnancy comedy made by people who are… mature and organized? How dare they.
Wild & Weird Trivia
- The movie is intensely personal for its creators. Interviews with outlets like Rolling Stone and Time emphasize that both Glazer and Buteau were already moms when they made Babes, and they used their real experiences — the gross body stuff, the resentment, the intimacy — as raw material [4].
- Critics and profiles keep calling the film “gory” and “raw” in how it talks about pregnancy and childbirth, almost like an R-rated public service announcement for what actually happens to your body [1][10].
- Neon acquiring Babes in 2023 was reported as a legit indie get — Pamela Adlon’s feature-directorial debut, Ilana Glazer’s first big post–Broad City comedy film, and a very female-driven, very bodily movie in a market where studio comedies are rare
.
Bottom Line:
Babes might be raunchy on screen, but behind the scenes it’s mostly earnest friendship, creative freedom, and personal revelation. The messiest part of the whole saga is the internet arguing over whether the improv-heavy structure is brilliant or a beautiful, chaotic flop. In a gossip landscape ruled by cursed sets and feuding co-stars, Babes is that rare thing: a hot mess of a movie made by people who actually seem to like each other.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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