Very few romantic comedy/dramas these days come from a place of honesty or true tenderness. This is an issue that has long plagued the rom-com genre, and while I wouldn’t necessarily restrict Friends with Kids – the latest outing from writer, director and star Jennifer Westfeldt – to this rather narrow classification, it nevertheless manages to avoid these restrictions. Featuring an all-star cast – which includes Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Jon Hamm, Chris O’Dowd, Kristen Wiig, Edward Burns, and Megan Fox – Friends with Kids expertly navigates this very delicate film landscape, displaying emotional honesty and depth within a film that is at once very insightful and at times quite funny.

Jason Fryman (Adam Scott) and Julie Keller (Jennifer Westfeldt) are best friends and thirty-somethings who each have struggled through the dating pool of New York City to find “the one,” and as their friends around them get married and have kids, both Jason and Julie just can’t find the right person out there with whom to start a family. Their solution? Have a one-off fling, have a baby, and remain friends. To them this is the perfect situation, all the love and respect a family should have without the complications they see their friends having. The two can continue dating and looking for their significant other without worrying about time being a factor in starting a family. As Jason puts it, they will be “100% committed, half the time.”

Of course this is a ludicrous idea, as Jason and Julie’s friends are quick to point out, and boy has Westfeldt amassed a terrific cast of supporting characters. While Friends with Kids was made beforehand, half the Bridesmaids cast make an appearance, as Maya Rudolph and Chris O’Dowd play Leslie and Alex, who themselves are dealing with newborns. Kristen Wiig and Jon Hamm appear as couple as Missy and Ben, who find that the strains of parenting are making them drift farther apart, rather than closer. So while their friends are skeptical of the idea, they support Jason and Julie’s decision and soon they have a son.

So despite being new parents, Jason and Julie begin dating again, as Jason meets the girl of his dreams (Megan Fox), much to Julie’s annoyance. Julie meanwhile meets Kurt (Edward Burns), who has a child of his own. As you can tell, this film is an ensemble romantic comedy, which works as the performances and characters are all solid. Westfeldt hits some very interesting beats throughout the first few acts of the film, as it ranges from insightful to quite funny.

For the first two acts, Westfeldt’s brisk and insightful writing brings the narrative into unexpected depths as a romantic comedy and is actually quite unique in that respect. The ensemble cast, while not all given that much to do, manage to create a sense of believability within the character and plot development. Unfortunately, near the final act the film begins to fall apart and becomes a bit more predictable while abandoning much of what made the film interesting. Despite its faults, Friends with Kids makes an admirable installment into the romantic comedy landscape.

Grade: B

Rated: R (for sexual content and language.)

Friends with Kids opens in limited release on March 9th.