Ilana Glazer: 'Babes' corrects male-centric pregnancy stories

LOS ANGELES, May 16 (UPI) -- Ilana Glazer said she co-wrote Babes, in theaters Friday, to finally make a pregnancy movie from the woman's perspective.

Glazer noted that popular films like Nine Months and Knocked Up focused on the father's apprehensions about becoming a parent. But, Babes focuses on a first time and second time mothers' experiences with pregnancy.

"Why is the story about Hugh Grant and Seth Rogen?" Glazer asked during a recent Zoom interview. "God bless them, but why?"

Glazer also stars as Eden, a single woman who becomes pregnant after a one-night stand. She also is godmother to best friend Dawn's (Michelle Buteau) children.

Glazer said it was indicative of a patriarchal society that more pregnancy stories were told about male anxieties than the mothers' themselves.

"That's the entire world we live in," she said. "We wanted to make it make sense and we are so excited to be the ones telling this story this way."

Buteau said it is not unusual for women to keep their health concerns private, and that she hopes watching Babes makes it easier for women to talk about pregnancy.

"Once you talk about these things, then you're giving people a platform to talk about them, too," Buteau said. "These are our bodies. We're going through stuff. Let's be less alone."

Babes begins with Dawn giving birth to her second child. She then experiences postpartum issues, while Eden goes through pregnancy for the first time.

One of those changes is uncontrolled lactating. One of Babes' comedic set pieces has milk pouring out of Dawn and leaking through her shirt.

Buteau said it was a simple movie trick to make Dawn lactate on cue.

"That was a hose," Buteau said.

Glazer added that modern day visual effects helped hide the hose by painting closed the holes through which the filmmakers fed it. However, they pumped the liquid through Buteau's shirt the old-fashioned way, with tubes.

Such bodily fluid scenes are in good company with comedies like There's Something About Mary and American Pie. Still, Glazer said she was surprised some audiences are more shocked by the female version.

"I don't even see it as gross," Glazer said. "I see it as real and I see that reality as hilarious."

Babes also portrays the strain pregnancies can put on friendships. Dawn is too exhausted with two children to spend time with Eden, and Eden expects more support for her first pregnancy than is fair to Dawn.

Since Eden and Dawn have been lifelong friends, they communicate these conflicts intuitively. In one scene, Eden and Dawn just repeat the word "b****" with different intonations, but they understand each other as if it's a conversation.

"These two have their own secret language," Glazer said. "They could be using the word b**** and be having paragraphs of a conversation."

Glazer said she hopes Babes proves there is an audience for the female perspective on pregnancy.

"I hope that it leads to dozens of more movies about this from an authentic perspective," she said.