'Friends with Kids' a parenting rom-com with a heart

Julie and Jason are a couple contemplating "cheating."

OK, they aren't really a couple. They're New York neighbors, best friends since college. So the cheating isn't what you think either. Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) and Jason (Adam Scott) are both in their 30s and both want kids.

It's just that they want them without what they see are the pitfalls that face all their "Friends with Kids." Marriages strained to the breaking point, the loss of romance and freedom, the seismic shift in priorities.

They want to cheat, to beat the system that beats loving couples into exhausted, testy, myopic parents. They figure the ideal relationship will be with someone who's already been through the rough years with children. So they'll have a baby, share raising it, and continue to date until they stumble into Mr. or Ms. Right.

What can go wrong with that?

Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeld star in 'Friends with Kids.' Westfeldt also directs.

Westfeldt, New York's chronicler of the perils of dating and relationships in the cruel, cold city (Kissing Jessica Stein and Ira & Abbey) has taken that sitcom-ready situation and spun it into her best film, a witty, warm comedy that easily invites comparison to the works of Woody Allen. Friends with Kids is like a Woody Allen romantic comedy -- with more heart.

Julie and Jason are part of a whole circle of "couples" when we meet them. Ben (Jon Hamm) and Missy (Kristen Wiig) and Leslie (Maya Rudolph) and Alex (Chris O'Dowd) might have their problems. But when they do their birthday gatherings in semi-swank restaurants, at least they're not like "those people" -- the ones who bring screaming brats into pricey eateries.

"Are they even allowed in here?"

Words you will eat, my friends. Because that circle soon starts procreating. When Jason and Julie -- who go through girlfriends and boyfriends in short order -- see what child rearing does to the other couples, that's when they come up with their plan. Are they both all in?

"I will be 100 percent committed to this. Half of the time."

The movie has wry observations about parenting (as viewed by outsiders) and comically judgmental snark. ("It's the baby card. They all play it.") Westfeldt, a decent actress and competent director, but a superb comedy writer, throws wonderful twists into what common sense tells us will not work -- the idea of having children without the loving parents who should be their role models. Maybe, she suggests, it can work. Society certainly is putting those rules to the test.

The cast is terrific, and it's a tribute to Westfeldt that she gives underused actors (Scott, Rudolph) a chance to shine, and finds warmth in the often-smarmy Edward Burns and nice acting chops in Megan Fox -- they play love interests of the new parents, Julie and Jason.

Friends with Kids doesn't reinvent the parenting romantic comedy. But every now and then, it's good to have a fresh take on why nobody "beats the system" and gets away with it.

FRIENDS WITH KIDS

Written and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt. A Roadside Attractions release, playing at Rave Levis Commons. Rated R for sexual content and language. Running time: 106 minutes.

Critic's rating: ****

Julie Keller .......... Jennifer Westfeldt

Jason Fryman ...........Adam Scott

Ben ........... Jon Hamm