An unconventional combination of light science fiction and oddball humor, Infinity Baby (2017) fills a quirky niche, but it’s a delightfully strange diversion. Shot in stark, cockeyed black-and-white, this one presents a future in which a company called Infinity Baby—run by quintessential late-stage capitalist Neo (Nick Offerman)—makes its fortune marketing infants that never age. Neo’s nephew Ben (Kieran Culkin) is a self-involved serial dater who’s never satisfied. Meanwhile, low-level Infinity Baby employees Larry (Kevin Corrigan) and Malcolm (Martin Starr) run into difficulties when they attempt to deliver a baby to a reluctant recipient. These two loosely connected narrative tracks proceed in a low-key, stream-of-consciousness manner, but ultimately converge in unexpected ways.
Infinity Baby is a deeply weird movie, perverse, darkly funny, and surprisingly philosophical. Playing out like a series of connected comedy sketches, its cockamamie scenario delivers first-rate humor, but also sideways, unconventional social commentary about family values—or, in Ben’s case, the lack thereof. Onur Tukel’s clever script is unpredictably funny, aided by an exceptional comic cast. Corrigan often steals the show with dead-eyed, deadpan deliveries, but there’s not a weak link the cast. Culkin makes an entertaining, fast-talking shitheel, Starr’s funny, flat affect goes down surprisingly touching paths, and Trieste Kelly Dunn is delightful as Ben’s perpetually cheerful girlfriend. The list goes on, with terrific support from Offerman, Megan Mullally, Jennifer Prediger, Stephen Root, Noël Wells, and more. If you have a soft spot for outlandish, esoteric indie comedy with a skiffy bent, Infinity Baby is well worth the look for its refreshingly thought-provoking laughs.
