I was seriously misinformed when it came to my expectations of Let's Ruin it with Babies – but that's okay, the film was pretty good anyway.
Inspired by and based loosely on Kestrin Pantera's real life, Let's Ruin it with Babies is about a carefree bohemian woman named Channing as she comes of age and accepts adulthood.
Let's Ruin It With Babies thinks its plot summary is: "Channing has it all: a beautiful home, a rock star lifestyle, and a loving husband intent on ruining it all by knocking her up."
But it would be wrong. Yes, Channing and Chaz, her husband, are pretty cool cats. They own a swanky abode and have quirky cool dinner parties and talk about real hipster issues. They even own their own business, a super hip RVip Transportainment vehicle that combines drinking, karaoke singing, and driving – which they oh so relevantly funded through a crowd-sourcing site. But, back to the parties – at one especially tricked out party Chaz announces to their group of friends that they are no longer actively attempting not to get pregnant. Channing doesn't seem too sold on the idea – but it's what you're supposed to do, right? While on their cross-country road trip de festival, Channing mulls over her life and her decision to, you guessed it: ruin it with babies.
Admittedly, my first impressions of and reason for watching this film was pretty far off base. I thought this was a foreign film and expected the quirky perspective and sly humor that goes along with it. Note, the minds behind this film are about as far from 'quirky foreign' as they can get – being not just Californians but from the ancillary town of angels, aka Los Angeles. It's okay though, just means the film was a bit dryer and a lot more hipsterly.
As a film, Let's Ruin it with Babies is entertaining but slow with most of the narrative being filler and the brunt of the story being possibly told in thirty minutes or less if Pantera was more succinct. The filler scenes are engaging and slightly add to the plot; but more often than not have no implication or integration with the bigger picture and conclusion of the film. It seems as though there was a general feel for the direction of the story but that most of the dialogue was improvised – as it was slow and unaffected and didn't feel deliberate.Further the camera work is shaky, with lots of hand-held work and not much steadicam shots, indicative of an independent film. If you are okay with all of those things and that specific visual style ideal then Let's Ruin it with Babies will be more of a hit for you.
Even though the film is called Let's Ruin it with Babies, there is still an open market for making a fun comedic movie about the socially constructed pressure put on burgeoning adults to take the next step and pursue procreation. Instead what you get is a story about a woman coming to terms with taking the next step as an adult, and yes, ruining it with babies.
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