Together Together

Together Together is a 2021 American independent comedy film written and directed by Nicole Beckwith in her directorial debut, starring Ed Helms and Patti Harrison in the lead roles. The film had its world premiere in at the Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021, was at the Seattle International Film Festival on April 2, 2021, and was released on Apple TV on April 23, 2021, by Bleecker Street Films. Set in Seattle, Washington, the film follows a young woman becomes a surrogate mother for a single, middle-aged man who wants a child.

Plot
Matt (Ed Helms), an app developer in his 40s, enters into a surrogacy agreement with a cynical "20-something" barista named Anna (Patti Harrison). While they start out with a rather rocky relationship, they come to each other in times of comfort and slowly become friends. During her pregnancy, they growing closer, but this causes tension as Anna and Matt face the choices they've made and the separate lives ahead of them - with Matt wanting to reconnect with his ex-wife and Anna wanting to go back to college.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) While the plot of a surrogate mother is not entirely unique (as Baby Mama did it beforehand), the film takes it in a different direction by having a future single dad instead of the usual single mom, and focusing on a platonic male/female friendship that comes out of this kind of agreement rather than a romantic one.
 * 2) Great acting, especially from Ed Helms, Patti Harrison, and Julio Torres (as Anna's best friend Jules).
 * 3) Great pacing as a film, with the runtime being perfect and the division of the film into trimesters (just like real pregnancy) is perfectly done.
 * 4) Many likable and sympathetic characters. Anna and Matt both have their own vulnerabilities and unique personalities, which are portrayed in honest ways.
 * 5) Matt is eccentric but intelligent and compassionate, and wants to be a father because of his lack of a good father figure growing up.
 * 6) Anna is witty, cynical, and acerbic, but still genuinely cares about other people despite her cold exterior.
 * 7) Madeleine (Tig Notaro), Anna's therapist during her pregnancy, is a wonderful character and a very kind person, and the film humanizes psychologists and therapists, who are often portrayed as jokes in popular media, very well.
 * 8) Great jokes surrounding pregnancy, surrogacy, and the views on both of Matt and Anna's situations in the broader culture.
 * 9) A very good script and screenplay to intersect with the rest of the good things about this movie.
 * 10) Wonderful cinematography and editing, particularly the wide shots of Seattle, where the film is set and filmed.
 * 11) A few famous places there, like Gas Works Park, are shown in detail.
 * 12) Many hilarious moments in the dialogue, like Anna's sarcastic comments towards the things occurring around her. One moment of note is her reaction to her birthing class and instructor, for example.
 * 13) Well-made costume design, particularly Anna's colorful outfits (similar to Patti Harrison's character Ruthie on 'Shrill').
 * 14) Many heartwarming moments, particularly:
 * 15) Anna standing up to, and breaking up with, her abusive boyfriend Bryce (Evan Jongkiet) with the help of Matt, as well as him encouraging it.
 * 16) Matt honestly telling Anna about why he wants to be a father, particularly because his was a bad father figure towards him.
 * 17) Matt giving Anna royalties from his most recent app to pay for her college degree.
 * 18) Anna helping Matt choose the perfect color for the nursery upon discovering the baby's gender.
 * 19) The decision to have Matt and Anna know the gender of the latter's baby but the audience not know is a great moment of suspense and questioning for the audience's eyes.
 * 20) It's clear that the film was made with genuine passion and care for the end product, with lots of effort and care going into it.
 * 21) Groundbreaking casting: Anna is strictly said to be cisgender (with Matt even asking her if she is in a scene), yet her actress Patti Harrison is transgender. Seeing Beckwith cast a trans* actress in this sort of role, especially as a pregnant woman and surrogate mother, opens a lot of doors for trans* actors hoping to play more diverse roles in the future.

Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 142 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Together Together explores love and parenthood from unexpected angles, capturing a broad spectrum of emotions through Patti Harrison and Ed Helms' starring performances." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "favorable reviews."

Trivia

 * The original title of this film, before its release, was Togetherness. A teaser-trailer for the film under that name was released on Beckwith's YouTube channel in early 2020.
 * Patti Harrison and Jo Firestone, who played another pregnant woman in Anna's birthing class, were on the television show Shrill together from 2019 to 2021.