‘…they’re all either settled down or desperately clinging to the corpse of their youth...’
Can there be such a thing as a platonic romcom? There are plenty of movies chronicling various bromances and guy dates but it’s rare to catch something that features a man and a woman remaining friends for an entire movie with no romantic entanglements. Harold and Maude maybe? Well, Together Together takes a man and a woman and subjects them to all the traditional story beats and tropes of a typical romcom but resists the urge to complicate matters with a romantic relationship. And it really works…
Anna (Patti Harrison) is a surrogate mother for Matt’s (Ed Helm) baby. The problems begin when Matt tries to dictate who Anna can sleep with and how loud her voice should be. Together, the two must navigate the journey of parenthood but with the knowledge that they aren’t a real family.
A novel concept then and one that is only occasionally played for laughs. Writer/director Nikole Beckwith has produced a script that is funny and smart, but leans more into the sweet, good-natured side of comedy that Helms excels at. Luckily, Harrison is also perfectly cast and the two of them combine to create a movie that is sweet, and feel good, and just a real nice time. One of those films that is made for a Sunday afternoon.
Together Together takes the concept of becoming a parent and renders it something so human and so real that the final emotional scenes really pack a punch. I loved this movie, an understated gem.