Bob Byington’s INFINITY BABY is a hilarious, off-center story bursting with ridiculousness and laughs at every turn. It is also a thoughtful meditation on commitment and our fear of moving forward in life.
The film follows several intersecting storylines all circling around a company called Infinity Baby. The company in question offers the singular experience of parenting a very unique child - a baby that can never age. Created through a glitch in a genetic engineering experiment, infinity babies are rented out to people who desire the experience of raising a child, yet perhaps can’t be bothered with all of the responsibilities that come with it. For a short period of time and (very) minimal effort, you, too, can have the sort-of realistic experience of loving and caring for an infant.
Kieran Culkin plays Ben, the nephew of the company CEO. He is always on the lookout for a romantic prospect, only to hilariously trash every relationship he is in, just as it starts going well. Once a solid connection has been made, he freaks and decides it’s time for the poor girl to meet his mother (Megan Mullally), a harsh, critical woman with impossibly high standards. The relationship inevitably comes to a screeching halt, and he begins searching for his next love interest.
Running parallel to this story, we have a couple of Infinity Baby staff members (Martin Starr and Kevin Corrigan) who decide to give parenting a shot, only to cut the program’s very minimal corners at every possible turn. Part of the appeal of Infinity Babies is the fact that they are ridiculously easy to care for, rarely needing to be fed or changed, and spend their days in a general state of happy baby bliss. Despite the simple instructions, the duo can’t seem to manage the level of responsibility that they signed up for.
And then we have the company’s hilariously unhinged CEO, played by Nick Offerman, who steals every scene he's in, but still doesn’t manage to outshine the rest of the cast.
Much of the humor is situational, and Onur Tukel’s clever script lands perfectly. The cast is incredible and they deliver every line and moment effortlessly. There are several amazing moments between Martin Starr and Kevin Corrigan that are beyond brilliant and maximize every second of their story.
As absurd as the premise is, the film offers some insightful thoughts into learning to embrace the things in life that we may fear. Life is not meant to be stagnant, and change, though scary, is a part of the deal. We grow and evolve, taking on new challenges and new phases, altering who we are while somehow we remain the same people. These things aren’t meant to be feared, but embraced as a natural part of living. INFINITY BABY examines this with a hilarious eye.
