No. 63 (2020) BABY DONE . October 14th.

 

Film No. 63 (2020) October 14th.  6:30 PM  EVENT CINEMAS Room 4,  Innaloo.

"You're a baby, having a baby" (Zoe's best friend Molly sprouts a home truth on how Zoe is handling pregnancy).

The New Zealand trope of creating cinema reflecting light stories (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The Breaker Upperers) layered with rich and witty characters is the reason for a strong international following. Baby Done will do nothing but enhance The Land of the Long White Cloud's reputation in a cinema sense.

There are many holes in the storyline here as loving couple Zoe (Rose Matafeo) and Tim (Matthew Lewis) joust about taking their relationship to the next level (having a child). Zoe is a competitive tree climber so pregnancy is out of the question. An international event beckons but you guessed it, she does fall pregnant. Their life goals become compromised ... and unfortunately, so does the film.

How so? Well I couldn't quite figure out whether Curtis Vowell (Fantail) wanted us to focus on Zoe's ambition to beat all odds, travel to Canada and win a world championship whilst pregnant, or win her man back by coming to her senses. Obviously it's no spoiler that the latter happens, but it's the  cumbersome way Vowell handles the two leads after initially having us believing in their rock solid love for one-another. Perhaps he doesn't need to lead us down so many paths. 

Nevertheless, Baby Done is pleasant and likeable. Every scene has some comic value. No New Zealand film embedded with light mirth would be the same without Rachel House (Hunt for the Wilderpeople; Child Welfare Officer). House only has one scene here but her role as a school principal is dry and witty. What more can I say, Baby Done is three and a half star entertainment. 8GUMS.