Jeremy of The Daily Rotation wrote, "Jennifer Westfeldt makes her directorial debut with the romantic comedy/drama Friends with Kids. The film takes on the idea of two best friends having a kid and keeping their relationship completely platonic. Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt lead the rounded cast that also features the likes of Kristen Wiig, Jon Hamm, Chris O’Dowd and Maya Rudolph. Friends with Kids is equally funny as it is dramatic, meeting in the middle and becoming a well-written film that’s a lot better than it looks."
Nicholas of Movies Hate You Too writes:
Netflix’s new offerings for March don’t include any major new releases. Instead we’re treated to some several smaller independent releases, a varied assortment of stand-up comedy shows, and the first season of the continuation of an iconic show. Catalog releases include a masked Mexican hero, a killer tooth fairy, a giant killer snake, a wannabe pilot nicknamed ‘Mayo’, and a ghastly ghost film with ties to Jell-O.
LRA writes: Kids change people, sometimes that change is good, sometimes its bad and sometimes it is difficult and both parents need to work through it. The one thing most don't take into consideration is how having kids effects their friends who don't have any of their own. Writer/Director and star Jennifer Westfeldt has decided to use her directorial debut and Sophmore scripting to explore the complicated world of friends and their kids or lack there of. It's a subject ripe with possibilities, who hasn't lost a close friend to a new born baby or fell out of the loop when their friends begin discussing the many joys and terrors of parenting? Being alienated from a close knit group of friends because you aren't the one with a kid or love interest is a something we have all been faced with at some point or another from multiple vantage points, which is what makes "Friends with Kids" such an enjoyable little experiment.
Jonathan of We Got This Covered wrote, "Friends With Kids is the best romantic comedy I’ve seen in quite some time. Not that it has much competition, given the general failings of the genre, but what writer/director Jennifer Westfeldt (who also stars) achieves with a decidedly archetypical story is hugely impressive. Westfeldt’s authorial voice is strong and unique, her worldview insightful and thought provoking, and the film’s unerring sense of purpose and clarity of execution is refreshing. This is one of the most pleasant cinematic surprises of 2012."
