Being a parent is hard, thankless and exhausting, but also rewarding on occasion. In a new quirky comedy, one soon-to-be-father and his surrogate mother run into some unexpected complications along the way. Alex Miranda, who is complicated, but not unexpectedly, has the story.
In “Together Together,” Ed Helms has had enough of being alone, but he isn’t going to wait any longer for a girlfriend before becoming a parent … although, he never thought he’d make this kind of a connection with his surrogate.
Hey, men can have a biological clock, too.
Ed Helms (as Matt): “I’ve thought a lot more about being a dad than I’ve thought making conversation with the person carrying my baby.”
In “Together Together,” a single, middle-aged tech worker in Northern California takes on fatherhood alone.
So he hires a woman in her 20s as a surrogate mother.
Fred Melamed (as Marty): “Is that what this is like, like donating an organ?”
Patti Harrison (as Anna): “I don’t know. I’ve never donated an organ before.”
Ed Helms, who we probably know best from “The Office,” plays Matt, in a more serious take on the quirky comedy category.
Alex Miranda: “I saw so much of myself in him. I’ve come to that conclusion, like, hey, maybe one day I’m going to have to do this on my own.”
Ed Helms: “It’s such a simple story, but it’s also very subversive in that it defies expectations, and I think, at the end of the day, you have to ask, why does this defy expectations? And I was surprised through the whole thing.”
Patti Harrison is Anna, who struggles with where the boundaries are, and what this dynamic is, and isn’t.
Patti Harrison (as Anna): “Are we friends?”
Ed Helms (as Matt): “Are we?”
Patti Harrison (as Anna): “I think that if we are, in order for this to work, we shouldn’t be.”
Alex Miranda: “This is the greatest gift anyone could ever give, and your performance reminded me of that.”
Patti Harrison: “It’s subtextually there in the text, in terms of her level of trying to detach. Is this a business transaction?”
Ed told me this story isn’t given some exaggerated Hollywood treatment.
Ed Helms: “That connection, too, is portrayed in such an earnest and real way.”
And, thus, is a style he’s, admittedly, not really used to.
Ed Helms: “The movie doesn’t try too hard at any point, and that can be a little scary for someone like me, who comes from a lot of comedies that do try too hard.”
In other words, no tiger in this one.
“Together Together” hits theaters this weekend.
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