By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jeremy Hersh
Starring: Brooke Bloom | Chris Perfetti | Jasmine Batchelor | Sullivan Jones
Country: united_states
Year: 2020
Running time: 93
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10239320/reference
Michael says: “When Jess finds out she’s pregnant, people are happy, but rather surprised. The real surprise is that this young, African-American, Brooklynite is acting as a surrogate for her best friends, an interracial gay couple despite her own aversion to a long-term relationship. She’s perfectly happy to play surrogate, while she serves a web designer for an upscale, socially relevant non-profit. Everyone’s happy, including supportive mom, dad and sister. Then the other shoe drops. The trio of parents to be discover some troubling news that gives the film its conflict and throws a whole heap of moral dilemmas into the mix that allow everyone to struggle with their thoughts, feelings, and morals. Writer/Director Jeremy Hersh tackles lots of issues in this film, but they’re pretty well integrated into the narrative of the film. The disagreements that swell into full-blown arguments might sometime seem like something out of the Opposing Viewpoints series of books, but fortunately, the writing is strong enough, and the acting is outstanding so it all works well.
“Jasmine Batchelor is excellent as the bubbly, good-hearted Jess. Another actor might have drawn Jess as self-righteous and annoying, but Jess remains sympathetic even when she becomes her own worst enemy in her stance. Chris Perfetti and Sullivan Jones are both strong as Josh and Aaron, the prospective dads. They could very easily come across as insensitive dicks, but again, both the writing and the performances are strong enough to make them relatable and real. All three have lots of TV credits along with stage chops as well. The rest of the supporting cast are uniformly strong, especially Brook Bloom as Bridget, a mother who Jess befriends, who tells it like it is and is more than a little perplexed as to why Jess tries to connect with her. The issues around race, sexuality, privilege, abortion, class… they’re all relevant an all involved. It’s a tough film and it brings up lots of tough feelings, and eschews any backing score to keep the focus directly on the dialog. It’s a bold choice that works. 4 cats”
Streaming at the Water’s Edge Virtual Cinema