Gayby Baby (Documentary)

Kids being raised by same-sex couples are growing in numbers worldwide. But what do they think about having same-sex parents? And do they face different issues to other kids? At a time when the world is debating marriage equality, these questions are more pertinent than ever. Told from the perspective of the kids, Gayby Baby is intimate and sometimes humorous account of four children and their families.

We meet Gus, a boisterous youngster who is heavily into WWE wrestling, but is also exploring his masculinity, although his two mothers fear that he may be a little too violent when it comes to playing. Matt seems very mature for his age, and he is wrestling with doubts over both religion and politics, as they seem to emphasize ideas that are in contrast to the beliefs of his two mothers. A high point for Matt though comes when he attends a dinner with Prime Minister Julia Gillard with his two parents as they discuss marriage equality. Ebony is interested in pursuing a musical career, and wants to win a scholarship to a prestigious music school in her neighborhood. She gets support from her two mothers despite their pressing concerns over the health of their youngest child who suffers from a severe form of epilepsy. Graham is the adopted son of a male couple and has some learning difficulties which they are working to overcome. But then the family is forced to move to Fiji for work, which complicates matters as his parents are forced to conceal the nature of their relationship due to the social and political climate. 

This documentary that shows us a compelling look at some children of the same-sex couple is one of the most endearing and fun documentaries I have seen. And all the credit goes to the four extremely charming kids who have been chosen as the central characters. They are all very different, as you can expect, they have their own issues, worries and interests and the only common interest binding them together is that they have parents of the same sex. The film shifts between each of their storylines, loosely organized around the lead up to events that will likely change each kid’s life in some major ways. Apparently, the filmmaker of this documentary observed the four families over a period of time and gained some intimate insights into their lives, before taking it to the editing room. She lets the stories unfold before the camera with her fly on the wall approach. Out of the four children, Gus' life seems the most ordinary, and the film shows how same-sex parents will work through disciplinary issues together with their children just like any other parent. Having said that, he is also the most natural and the most charming of the four kids. Each parent is going through their own struggles and we see, how just like any other straight family, the kids are normal and parents deal with their usual; parental struggles. The most interesting story for me personally was Matt's struggle between religion and his belief. Now he is one kid way mature for his age. This film came back in 2015 and having seen it now, I am very very curious what these kids are unto now and how their life life turned out to be. I am going to be my political views to myself for now, but I have to say that just for the four very charming kids, this documentary is definitely worth a watch. It amazes me how these kids were able to continue to be so natural and themselves while probably multiple cameras were following them around. (7.5/10)