I am a sucker for Anna Kendrick and Seth Rogen. There. We got that out of the way. I find them both very funny, and will chase anything they are in. Luckily, Lauren Miller Rogen knows their strengths and Babies at TIFF 2026 was perfect for both of them. As one of the few comedies I saw at the festival, it was definitely a standout, and I have no doubts that it will do very well in a theatrical release.
Babies follows Aaron and Annie, a couple that has been together for over a decade. The movie starts with a look inside Annie’s head as she dwells on whether or not she wants to have children. She does not have forever, and as she looks over a party, she is heavily weighing the pros and cons and tries to identify what she wants. She isn’t sold on the idea.
As most people in their 30s do, they have friend groups at all stages in their lives. With kids, happily married, and sadly, divorcing. After their friend Eliza (Kate Berlant) leaves her husband Luke (Dan Stevens), she and her young daughter move in with Annie and Aaron, and they get a chance to give parenting a real-world test drive.
It’s an interesting topic for Lauren Miller Rogen, as she and her husband Seth Rogen are often in the news for their decision not to have children, and people find their decision not to wildly controversial. In reality, it’s none of anyone’s damn business, but I’d like to think that Babies is a bit of a “write what you know” situation, where Miller Rogen sets the record straight once and for all, and does it with a mic drop.
What I love most about Babies is that it isn’t just looking at things from the woman’s perspective. Rogen’s Aaron is what could be considered an all-around good guy, and sort of refers to Kendrick’s Annie, since having a child would affect her body, etc., more than him, and admits he never really thought about it too heavily.
Throughout the movie, he is consistently involved with the daughter, making breakfast and at potty time, rather than piling it all on Annie, which many films may have stooped to. Babies also explores the relationship between men and their friends as they become parents, and what fatherhood is like in a number of scenarios. More importantly, it doesn’t just play being a dad off as “babysitting”; in fact, it calls that dialogue out.
Babies actually says a lot of the quiet parts out loud, and it’s pretty perfect. At one point, mothers are discussing the hard parts of motherhood, and Annie calls them out, wondering why everyone else isn’t constantly researching and overanalyzing every aspect of the decision to have children.
As a mother, I’ve come across all different kinds of parents from the “this is a blessing” parents to the “why did I do this” parents all the way down to the “this is the best thing I ever did but it also suuuuuucks” parents (that last one is me), and I think Miller Rogen perfectly captured all of these variants, and it makes for some great comedy, but more significantly, some important conversations.
Babies does come to a conclusion, and I won’t spoil that here, but she truly could have gone either way with this story. The movie never heavily enforces one choice or another. It’s a very down-to-earth look at one of life’s biggest decisions. My only real question is how they own this outrageous house in Los Angeles on an art teacher salary, though it never says what he does. If that’s my biggest problem with the film, I think it did a pretty great job.
Anna Kendrick is at her best in Babies, with top-tier but not over-the-top comedy and a few truly sincere scenes. It’s nice to remember that she has some range we don’t always get. Seth Rogen does what he always does, but does it well. The supporting cast fills out the friend group and plot without pulling focus too much to their lives, and Kate Berlant makes for some of the funniest moments on screen. Hell, even the kids have some amazing comedic timing.
Babies was a ton of fun at TIFF 2026 and tackles a topic that is pretty relatable for people in their mid-20s and 30s today. If you are familiar with Rogen or Kendrick’s work and enjoy that brand of comedy, this film will be perfect for you. Lauren Miller Rogen hit it out of the park with the script and direction in Babies, and I look forward to what she does next.
