Both at different stages in their journeys, Eden is carefree, wild, and still on the path to figuring out what she wants, until one fateful night changes the trajectory of her life as she knows it. Dawn, on the other hand, seemingly has it all. The career, the husband, and a toddler at home with a second child on the way. The film delves beneath the glossy surface of friendship and gets to the nitty gritty, the guts, and the ugliness, but in turn, shows us that despite life throwing curve balls, at the end of the day, it’s the support network and have around you that counts. Friendship and family are often messy, and the movie goes out of its way to highlight messiness through comedy. The darker the humor, the bigger the laugh, and Babes doesn’t shy away from digging deep.

Penned by Glazer and co-writer Josh Robinowitz, Babes is a daringly unabashed look at the heartbeat of motherhood, and what it takes to maintain those relationships when going through a cataclysmic shift in life. Born from executive producer Susie Fox, both Glazer and Robinowitz, coincidently were going through their own pregnancy journeys at the time of writing this project, which breathed life into the film, adding an additional personal touch.

In conversation with 1883 Magazine’s Dana Reboe, actors Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau discuss their new film Babes, the intricacies of Dawn and Eden’s friendship, why it was so important to shine the spotlight on the messiness of pregnancy, and more.

So, to jump into it, I’ll start with you, Ilana.I appreciated how frank the film was. It didn’t shy away from conversations surrounding the messiness of pregnancy, how painful and how scary it can be to go through that with or without a partner. Why was it so important to shine a light on that? 

Ilana: It’s so funny because Michelle and I have been doing comedy for a combined 40 years plus.

Wow. 

Ilana: And as women, as Michelle 23 years, myself 19 years, as women in comedy, I think we are hyper-aware of how limited the spaces are for women to talk about their experiences authentically. And Michelle, correct me if I’m wrong. Correct me if I’m wrong. But this is just how we talk and then we get feedback that it’s different than sort of the mainstream discourse.

So, for me, in writing this movie with my co-writer, Josh Rabinowitz, I was writing from an authentic place, from my experience, from the experience of women that I’ve heard, interviewing women and friends and getting their experiences.

And it’s what’s important to me is not describing the situation, frankly, but describing it true to myself and true to women that I know and hear from and listen to. And then it does turn out to be as frank or particularly honest, which continues to surprise me.

I love that. Michelle, what were your first thoughts of Dawn when you read through the script? 

Michelle: Oh, my goodness. I kind of felt attacked [laughter]. I was like, are you watching me? Are you watching me? A tired mom of two who’s trying to get into a relationship in a clean house and find a nanny who will stay there for more than four hours. I felt attacked.

And then, the great thing about this movie is that… wow, what a concept that motherhood is told from a female perspective. 

Crazy. 

Michelle: Crazy. And it’s one of those things where, wow, when you see it on a page, I immediately felt less alone. When you’re in the four walls of your home and you’re taking care of kids and you’re trying to remember how to conjugate a verb when you’re talking to your husband about what we’re going to have for dinner while we’re eating. You’re just like, “Wow, I can’t do this.” I am really bad at this for a number of reasons, because that’s how this unrealistic patriarchal standard has set us up in life to make us feel like we’re never doing enough.

And so when I read it, I felt seen. I felt heard. I felt attacked. And what a wonderful way to story-tell real life and make it hilarious. As comedians, the deeper and darker it is, the funnier it will be and the more people you can actually touch.

I agree. This is for both of you and we’ll start with Ilana on this one. The center of Babes is Eden and Dawn’s relationship. It’s the beating heartbeat of the film. How would you describe their friendship, Ilana? 

Ilana: I would describe Eden and Dawn’s friendship as OG. Familial. Secure. Even though it’s wavering in this movie and the journey about it, it’s secure and also welcoming. I think their friendship feels like, and I hope it feels for the audience like they’re a part of it when they’re watching it.

Absolutely. And Michelle? 

Michelle: You know, since I’m the only child, I do call my friends my chosen family. Like, I am that girl. The godparents of my kids are people that I’ve known my whole life. Because there’s something really special about somebody knowing you from when you were a child that you, you know, can’t understand or speak to so it’s sort of like your own language. And so, yeah, that is the beautiful thing about Dawn and Eden’s relationship.

Also, what’s so funny is that after, you know, Tastemaker events and premieres and stuff like that, so many people come up to us. And me, at the store. They’re just like, “I’m the Dawn!” And it’s so nice that people truly see themselves – even men! Which is really fun and really nice. Because when you do something first in your friendship and then your friend’s like, “I want to do it, too. I want to do that real-life thing!” You’re just like, hold on. Better hold tighter than those three braids on Stevie Wonder’s head. [laughter] I’m sorry, Stevie! 

Ilana: He has such a good sense of humor, right? 

Even though we see their friendship waver, I felt a twinge. Because my best friend and I have been friends for 20-odd years. And even now, we haven’t seen each other for almost a year. But even with the wavering, we still come back to each other.I loved seeing that about Eden and Dawn’s relationship. It just felt so personable.

For Ilana, you penned the script with your friend and writing partner, Josh Rabinowitz. Can you talk a little bit about the process from idea to film? I read that there was quite a bit of consultation from friends and family?

Ilana: Our producer, Susie Fox, had the broad strokes of this idea. And when she pitched it to me, I told her I was pregnant. And I was like, “This is really funny timing.” And we thought, who would be the best person to write this with? We pitched it to Josh, and his wife was pregnant. So, we were like, “Wow, we’re really in the pocket here.” And there’s a little bit of fate bringing this, aligning the stars of this collaboration right now. So, that was a really fun way to kick it off and we did.

We asked our friends their experiences. Josh specifically, I think, because he’s a guy, he interviewed many, many women, Genuinely interviewed them and furiously scribbled down notes. Whereas Susie had been having these interviews all the time because that’s what’s happening between women as friends.

For example, the opening scene, the way that Dawn labors and gets herself from the restaurant to the delivery room. That crawl happened to a friend of Susie’s friend. It was her second child and came out faster. In fact, in real life, this woman’s partner wasn’t home because they didn’t realize how quickly the baby would come she drove herself crowning to the hospital.

So we don’t have that part, we have the part where Michelle’s crawling. We took the parts that made sense for these characters. I think that’s why it feels so true. It is an amalgamation of many millennial women’s experiences. Fortunately, choosing to become parents and then you are a parent of a young kid or a baby. And you’re suffering in some way. And you’re like, “I chose this?” So, that sort of full circle that never ends. That strangeness.

Babes is in UK & Irish cinemas from 9th August

Interview Dana Reboe