Babes (2024 Melbourne International Film Festival) ★★★½

AMERICAN comedian Pamela Adlon’s debut feature is a gem.

Babes is written by Ilana Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz, part of the team behind television’s Broad City, and stars Glazer and Michelle Buteau.

That’s a lot of talent at work and it shows in the final result – a raunchy comedy with smart dialogue, plenty of laughs and genuine heart.

It’s a rom-com with a difference, focusing on female friendship and the highs and lows of motherhood.

Single Eden (Glazer) and married mum of one Dawn (Buteau) are life-long friends.

They are so connected they even keep track of each other’s bowel movements.

On their annual Thanksgiving outing to the movies, pregnant Dawn notices no matter how many times they seats they are all wet.

Eventually, after Eden takes a look in the cinema, they realise the pregnant Dawn’s waters have broken.

Rather than head straight for the hospital they decide it could be a false alarm and go for a slap-up restaurant meal.

The result is Dawn on all fours crawling from a taxi into the hospital.

After giving birth Dawn is craving for sushi and Eden goes out and buys $500 worth only to find Dawn and her partner asleep.

Eden’s subway trip home involves trying to entice others to help her eat the mountain of sushi and an actor named Claude obliges.

The pair strike up an immediate friendship and I’ll leave the plot details there.

Glazer and Buteau are wonderful together and the arc of their story doesn’t take the usual path.

Apart from the frequent comic moments, the film depicts motherhood and relationships with authenticity and heart.

Watched at the cinema.