Together Together

Together Together is a 2021 American comedy film written and directed by Nikole Beckwith. The film stars Ed Helms, Patti Harrison, Tig Notaro, Julio Torres, and Anna Konkle. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021, and was released on April 23, 2021, by Bleecker Street.
== Plot ==
Matt is a forty-something successful app developer, and is interviewing Anna, a twenty-something who works at a coffee shop, to become his surrogate. Matt wants to become a father without getting married. Anna wants to get into college and get her bachelor's and master's degrees, which requires money. During the first trimester, the doctor tells Matt and Anna that everything is going well, which makes Matt very happy. He asks Anna to go to dinner with him as a celebration, to which she agrees. Afterwards, Matt tells his brother and his parents about the pregnancy; his mother in particular seems very unhappy with his decision. At dinner, Matt and Anna talk about pro-life and pro-choice life philosophies and how nervous they are in making conversation with each other. While ordering dinner, Matt makes a weird, annoying sound when Anna chooses to order potato over salad, saying it is not good for the baby, as what she eats the baby eats. He orders pasta with bacon. After the waitress leaves, Anna says that "she matters only for the next nine months, but he matters for next 18+ years, so he should also be eating healthy food". Matt agrees and asks why she didn't made a weird sound, to which she responds that "she is not annoying". Next, both are shown attending therapy, where Matt says that he is very excited and wants to share the news with everybody; he is surprised when Anna says that she is not going to tell anyone about the pregnancy. Coming out of therapy, Matt asks if she wants a bite of candy and tells her that he once went to couple's therapy with his ex, and after coming outside they would hold hands and eat candy.
At the coffee shop, Matt brings special pregnancy tea and clogs for Anna. She takes the tea, but says that she doesn’t need the clogs. Matt takes the clogs to Anna's house, where he meets a guy Anna hooked up with. He gets upset as he thinks it's not safe for the baby. Both then go to the hospital, where Anna makes it clear that he cannot stop her from having sex for a whole year, and it is safe as many married women have sex while they are pregnant, which the technician confirms. The technician asks if they want to hear the heartbeat. Matt is very happy listening to the heartbeat. At therapy, Matt says that it was very exciting and he wants to hear that sound all the time, while Anna says that it was nice to see Matt so happy. The therapist asks them if they are having any conflicts other than the clogs, and they share Matt's concern over Anna having sex. The therapist tries to clear any doubt, but Matt is still skeptical. During the second trimester, Anna tells Matt that she is going to use the money to get into an accelerated degree program so she can complete her bachelor's and master's degrees within three and a half years. Matt shows her the to-be nursery, and she helps him pick a color for the nursery, which she enjoys. Next, both have a deep conversation about why they are alone. They start hanging out with each other more and decide that they should use a gender-neutral name to refer to the baby until they get to know the birth gender. They agree to call the baby "Lamp". At the mall, shopping for maternity wear, Anna meets her sister's friend and lies that she works there. She doesn't want her sister or her parents to know that she is pregnant, as they would get mad at her, like they did the first time.
Matt asks Anna to move in with him until the baby is born, as he wants to get all the possible time with the baby, to which Anna agrees. Anna and Matt go crib shopping, where the salesgirl calls them a couple, to which Anna says, "Ew, no". Her reaction upsets Matt a little. When Anna asks him the reason, he says that her reaction at the store bothered him. She replies that she reacted that way not because "he is gross, but because it would be gross if they were a couple", as he is twenty years older than her. At the baby shower, Anna feels odd when Matt's mother calls her unrelated to the baby. Anna realizes that despite trying so hard, she is getting attached to the baby and Matt. She leaves Matt's house after the baby shower, saying "they should have better boundaries". Into the third trimester, Anna and Matt attend a birth center class, where they get to learn various techniques to prepare mothers for childbirth. After some days, Anna feels mild cramps at night and calls Matt, thinking that the baby is coming. The doctor says that it is normal to have such cramps and the baby is healthy, but not coming right now. After visiting the doctor, Anna confesses that she loves Matt in a adorable way and she doesn't want to lose him, but that she can't stay, as she got accepted to Vermont. Matt says they are not going to lose each other, as he loves her too and that he is proud of her for getting into college. This time, after attending therapy, Anna asks if Matt wants to hold hands and eat candy, which they do in the park while sitting on a bench. One week before the due date, Anna has contractions. Then, they do all the things they have learned at the birth center and take Anna to the hospital, where she delivers baby Lamp. The movie ends with Matt consoling a crying Lamp.
==Cast==
* Ed Helms as Matt
* Patti Harrison as Anna
* Rosalind Chao as Dr. Andrews
* Anna Konkle as Shayleen
* Evan Jonigkeit as Bryce
* Tig Notaro as Madeline
* Sufe Bradshaw as Jean
* Nora Dunn as Adele
* Fred Melamed as Marty
* Jo Firestone as Tamara
* Terri Hoyos as Dana
* Julio Torres as Jules
* May Calamawy as Carly
==Release==
The film had its world premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section of the Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021. Prior to this, Bleecker Street acquired the US distribution rights, while Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions acquired the international distribution rights. It had a limited release on April 23, 2021, followed by video on demand on May 11, 2021.
=== Box office ===
In United States, the film is released alongside Mortal Kombat to be debuted box office in the friday opening of $182,712 including $350,061 on the two weekend opening combo in +55.3% and +287.4% behind the wide margin box office finishing July 29, 2021.
=== Critical response ===
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 150 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. 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 70 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
==References==
==External links==
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Category:2021 comedy films
Category:American comedy films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:2020s American films