Life Happens

2012 | 100 minutes | Rated R

Set in Los Angeles, this unfunny comedy succeeds only in perpetuating the worst stereotypes about that city. The characters are uniformly shallow and self-involved, and their career ambitions (which, for some reason, we're asked to take seriously) include appearing on reality TV and opening a mall for dogs. Kate Bosworth and Krysten Ritter play 30-something party girls who discover responsibility when Ritter's character has a baby out of wedlock; their grating banter is interrupted only by reaction shots from the child. Underlit and slackly paced, this feels more like a subpar network sitcom than a feature film. Kat Coiro directed a script she cowrote with Ritter. By Ben Sachs

Director: Kat Coiro
Cast: Krysten Ritter, Kate Bosworth, Rachel Bilson, Geoff Stults, Justin Kirk, Fallon Goodson, Andrea Savage, Kristen Johnston, Rhys Coiro, Seymour Cassel, Jason Biggs and Louis Silvers