Getting your loved one pregnant seems complicated enough. Getting a complete stranger pregnant on purpose? Well, that comes with even more complications, as seen in Together, Together, the sophomore feature film from Nikole Beckwith.
Anna (Patti Harrison) is hired by Matt (Ed Helms) to be the surrogate carrier of the baby he plans to raise as a single father. Anna is a twenty-something who is slightly more free-spirited than the neurotic, Matt, who means well but can abide by the rules a bit too closely.
He becomes somewhat obsessive about what Anna is doing while carrying his baby to the point where it is slightly overbearing. But he never oversteps that line in an insulting or mean-spirited manner. As a result, they are eventually able to find a happy middle-ground that sees Matt invite her to live with him during the latter days of the pregnancy so that he can help her out through the process.
Although Anna and Matt are at different ages and different parts of their lives, they both share the similarities of being terribly lonely in their lives and they strike a unique bond that may seem to be teetering on being romantic but really is genuinely platonic. They forge the bond that a couple would normally go through during this time, just without some of the messier aspects that may come from a real relationship.
That’s not to say that there aren’t their own hiccups to the situation as pointed out hilariously by Jules (Julio Torres), Anna’s scene-stealing coworker at the cafe she works at. He points out that they’re spending way too much time together throughout the process to be just friends and although most movies would delve into rom-com territory and force them to fall in love, Beckwith thankfully spares us from the cliches.
Are there parts of Together Together that seem familiar and safe in this sort of movie? Sure. But it’s the performances from Harrison and Helms and their chemistry together that ultimately sells it. Harrison is a relative newcomer but she navigates the comedic and dramatic aspects with the skill of a veteran and Helms is his usual self but still is able to demonstrate some tender layers of nuance that pair so well with his counterpart.
Together Together is a sweet effort that gives a somewhat refreshing take on a topic that we have seen aspects of before but does so in a fashion that is kind-hearted and is ultimately a tale of a new life bringing two people together as life-long friends, the sort of bond that becomes so much harder to find the older we get.
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