The Wonder Weeks is a Dutch-language movie that follows the story of three couples as they struggle to strike a balance between their relationships, managing parenthood, and their demanding careers.
The Wonder Weeks, originally titled ‘Oei, ik Groei!’, is inspired by the classic non-fiction of the same name written by Dr. Frans Plooij and Dr. Hetty van de Rijt. The story revolves around the lives of three couples Anne-Barry, Isle-Sabri, and Kim-Roos, and their struggles as working parents.
The Wonder Weeks Story Summary
Anne (Sallie Harmsen) and Barry (Soy Kroon) become parents with the birth of their daughter, Mia. However, Mia’s doctor tells them that Mia is code yellow in terms of her weight. She instructs them to follow a schedule to feed Mia and involve physical exercises in Mia’s schedule.
Kim (Katja Schuurman) and Roos (Sarah Chronis) are parents to Didi and Teun, for whom Kaj (Louis Talpe) was the sperm donor. As Roos is expecting their third child, Kaj expresses his willingness to co-parent his children, along with the two women. The three of them go to Anne, who works at a law firm, to take care of the legalities. Anne designs a co-parenting plan for them, with a trial period of one week. Didi and baby Teun are left with Kaj for him to take care of them.
Isle (Yolanthe Cabau) and Sabri (Iliass Ojja) are another couple who are blessed with a baby boy, Samih. Sabri’s relatives come over to their place to celebrate. Isle is told that Samih would be circumcised as per the Moroccan tradition.
Meanwhile, Anne struggles with Mia’s developmental leaps which prevent Mia from sleeping at night. Anne is compelled to stay awake as Mia keeps crying every night. She plans on sending Mia to a daycare center, as advised by her doctor. However, there is a waiting period at all daycares and no slots are available for a new admission. However, Anne learns that there are reserved spots for children of mothers who are part of a club named ‘Moms for Moms.’ Kim tells her that she is the founder of the club, and invites Anne for a visit.
Roos and Kim plan the gender reveal of their third child, which is organized by ‘Moms for Moms’. Kim tells Anne about how the club offers the best school, swimming lessons, babysitters, and daycare services for children of working mothers. The club also organizes parties, gender reveals, and baby showers. The club does all of this, expecting dedication from its members.
Anne agrees to become a part of the club. She is shortlisted for the allocation of a spot in the daycare for Mia. Hester, a babysitter, is assigned to take care of Mia until she gets the spot. As Hester begins her job of babysitting Mia, Anne and Barry find time to prioritize their careers.
Kaj Tries His Hand At Being A Parent
‘Moms for Moms’ organizes a “Stay Healthy Day” to motivate their children to a healthy lifestyle. As Kaj brings Teun to the event, Teun gets locked in the car accidentally. Anne comes out to receive a call from her office and sees Kaj who has accidentally locked Teun, but he tells her to not tell Kim as she would get very angry. When Anne asks him about a spare key, Kaj tells her that he lost it. Anne tells him to do something about the situation quickly.
Soon, everyone comes out and finds Teun locked in the car. Roos and Kim get angry at Kaj. Anne tells them that she has called roadside assistance and it would be there in an hour. Roos fear that Teun would get suffocated due to closed windows. Finally, Kaj breaks the window glass of the car and Teun is rescued.
Kim overhears Roos and Kaj talking and learns that Kaj has a criminal record. Kim talks to Anne about her concerns regarding the safety of her children. Anne tells her that Kaj has submitted his character of conduct to her. However, Kim tells her to look through it carefully again. Anne discovers, on a careful inspection of the documents, that Kaj had given a fake certificate, and he had scammed people online, ten years ago. The parental authority is, therefore, withdrawn from Kaj, and Kim and Roos take away the kids with them. When Kaj finds out that Anne revealed his past to child services, he feels betrayed by his friend’s action.
Anne And Barry’s Relationship Suffers
While Anne gets extremely busy with her job, her relationship with Barry starts to get affected. Barry feels that Anne is always too caught up in everything, even when it is not needed.
In one of the regular visits to the doctor, Mia is declared to be code red, at the borderline for obesity. The doctor tells Anne and Barry that it is because the feeding and exercising schedule is not being followed. Anne learns about Hester feeding non-macrobiotic food to Mia. She complains about it to Barry, telling him that Hester just needs to stick to the instructions specified very clearly for Mia through labels and checklists. However, Barry tells her to stop being so worked up about it.
Over the course of time, Anne starts getting insecure about Barry getting involved with Hester. She finds him eating dinner with Hester one night, which was supposed to be their night instead. However, Anne could not make it in time as she was caught up investigating Kaj’s documents, and Barry asked Hester to join him for dinner after having waited for Anne for a long time. On another day, Anne looks at the security camera footage of Barry’s office and finds him masturbating to Hester’s pictures. When Anne fires Hester, Barry questions Anne about it. Finally, Anne confronts Barry for masturbating to Hester’s pictures, and she asks Barry to move out.
Isle does not like the idea of her son getting circumcised. However, she agrees to it as both Isle and Sabri want their child to learn from both their cultures. She is even able to convince her parents about the same. However, she learns that they would also be slaughtering a sheep as a sacrifice at the circumcision ceremony of Samih. She takes Samih with her and leaves the sheep in a pasture. She does this on the day of Samih’s circumcision, right before the ceremony. Accidentally, Teun gets circumcised as Sabri’s friend dressed up the only baby he found in the house. Resultantly, Isle’s behavior offends Sabri’s mother a lot.
The Wonder Weeks Ending Explained
Despite their many difference, the three couples eventually settle their differences and navigate the complexities of their relationships. To Kaj’s luck, he finds some favor with Kim as he comes to the rescue when Roos’ water breaks. Not only does he take Roos to the hospital but also extends moral support to Kim. With a new addition to the family in the form of a baby girl, Kim decides to give Kaj another chance at becoming a parent.
Anne and Barry also make amends as Anne decides to forgive Barry, acknowledging that she has been a control freak. Anne shares with Barry that Mia spoke her first words – “Mama.” Barry asks Anne to remove the baby monitor, as she gets too occupied by it. Eventually, Barry and Anne decide to seek a new beginning from a fresh perspective. Anne also apologizes to Kaj for stealing his chance at being a father.
Isle also apologizes to Sabri, and Sabri supports Isle by understanding her feelings. They decide to get Samih circumcised, but without sacrificing a sheep. Ultimately, Sabri’s mother also forgives Isle as the two learn to resolve their differences and move on as a family.
Eventually, a happy ending follows for all the couples who started their journeys on a struggling note. Everyone joins Anne and Barry in their celebration of Mia’s birthday. At the party, Isle invites everyone to the party for Samih’s circumcision, which did not go as planned the last time. Kim informs Isle that they will be leaving their baby home this time. In an attempt to correct her mistake, Anne informs Barry that she has decided to re-hire Hester, hoping Barry will be able to control his fantasies this time around.
The Wonder Weeks is available for streaming on Netflix.
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