Cherry Baby

Cherry, a 36-year-old marketing executive at Western Alliance Railroad in Omaha, Nebraska, navigates the aftermath of her separation from Tom Valentine, creator of Thursday, a massively popular webcomic turned bestselling graphic novel now being adapted into a major motion picture. Tom left for Los Angeles nearly a year ago, and Cherry lives alone in their house with Stevie Nicks, the enormous Newfoundland–Great Pyrenees mix Tom suggested when Cherry was ready for a baby and he was not.

At a reunion concert by a local band called Goldenrod, Cherry reconnects with Russ Sutton, a charming acquaintance from her days at Creighton University who now works as the mayor's chief of staff. A flashback reveals their history: At 22, Cherry met Russ at a bar, where he taught her to swing-dance and seemed genuinely drawn to her. When she returned from the bathroom, however, she found Russ making out with her roommate and best friend, Stacia. Now, 14 years later, both recently single, they leave the concert together and sleep together at Cherry's house. Russ is tender, calling Cherry beautiful, but leaves before dawn to get home to his eight-year-old son, Liam. Cherry realizes she does not have his number.

A trailer for the Thursday movie drops online. Cherry's four sisters flood the group chat with reactions, criticizing the actress playing Baby, the supporting character Tom based on Cherry. Cherry refuses to watch the trailer. She has spent years separating herself from Baby, a two-dimensional drawing who looks and talks like her but belongs to Tom. At work, almost no one knows she and Tom are separated, and colleagues bombard her with comments about the trailer. After Cherry breaks down crying, her boss, Meg Jones, the railroad's VP of communications, tells her she should sleep with someone to move on. Cherry admits she already has. Later, she finds texts from Russ, and they begin dating.

Tom calls to say he is returning to Omaha to pack his things. Their first attempt fails: The house, still full of their shared life, paralyzes them both. They shift to a system where Tom comes while Cherry is at work, leaving yellow Post-it notes on items; Cherry replies in blue. A flashback reveals how Cherry and Tom met: At 25, Cherry attended a holiday party in black jeans and a sweater, not realizing it was black-tie. Tom, a quiet designer at the railroad's ad agency, spotted her frozen in a hallway and stayed by her side all night. Cherry had to force her phone number on him. On Christmas Eve, Cherry kissed Tom and he pulled away, then returned to her door and kissed her so hard she shifted back onto her heels.

In the present, Cherry's routines overlap with Tom's visits. One evening, Tom reveals he is ending Thursday. Cherry, blindsided, asks whether the characters are getting divorced. Tom pulls her close and promises they stay together. On another night, after reminiscing over takeout, Tom kisses her. Cherry pulls away, reminding him she is seeing someone.

Cherry's relationship with Russ deepens but carries tension. She asks why, if Russ wanted her when they met, he chose Stacia. Through a closed bathroom door, Russ confesses he was immature and chose the conventionally attractive girl as a social trophy, admitting he thought Cherry was overweight and feared his friends' mockery. Cherry tells him she is never losing weight, she will probably gain weight, and she might want a baby. Russ accepts all of it, and they reconcile.

Early in her relationship with Tom, Cherry discovered Thursday online. Reading through the webcomic archive, she found a single-panel image of a fat woman unmistakably modeled on her, across from Tom's avatar, who thinks: "I just met the most beautiful girl." Cherry could not tell if the drawing was a joke or a love letter. She never told Tom she had read it and resolved to keep his art separate from their marriage, telling herself Baby was just a drawing.

As the movie's publicity intensifies, Baby follows Cherry everywhere. At the mayor's Christmas party, guests call her "Baby" and compare her to a cartoon character like Lisa Simpson. Russ grows tense, drinks too much, and tells Cherry on the drive home that people see only her husband when they are together. When Cherry says she cannot change who she is, Russ blurts, "Your sister did," referencing her eldest sister Hope's dramatic weight loss. Cherry ends the relationship the next morning, telling Russ her body is not up for discussion.

A blizzard knocks out power across the city. Cherry and Tom argue when he reveals he has signed a lease in Pasadena and plans to take Stevie. Cherry erupts: "You took everything!" During the fight, Stevie escapes through the open front door. They search together in near-zero visibility until Tom commands the dog to sit at the park. Cherry later decides to let Tom take Stevie, believing he will love the dog better.

On Christmas Eve, Cherry bakes alone, falling behind on the holiday dishes she and Tom always made together. Tom sees her overwhelmed and offers to help. They fall into their old rhythm, rolling gingerbread and singing carols. Cherry invites him to Christmas dinner. At her sister Honny's house the next day, Tom draws for the children, plays card games, and drives Cherry's father, who has an alcohol addiction, home. That night, Tom gives Cherry an antique Disney charm bracelet. They kiss and spend the night together.

The next morning, Tom says he wants to come home. Cherry says it is not that easy. They argue about who left whom, and Cherry calls the night a mistake and tells him to leave. A flashback fills in the full story: Tom's publicist, Rachel, became his constant companion in Los Angeles. Cherry FaceTimed Tom one night and saw Rachel in the background. Tom admitted to sleeping with Rachel once, after Cherry had asked for the divorce. Cherry told him not to come home, and after three weeks of unanswered calls, he stopped trying.

Cherry talks to Hope, who reveals her own marriage is falling apart and assures Cherry that Tom's love has always been obvious. Cherry meets Tom at Abbie's Road, the Beatles-themed pizzeria where they had their first date, and asks him to apologize. He does: He was lonely, depressed, and made a terrible mistake. Cherry tells him to come home. They drive home separately, and she pulls him inside.

Tom must leave in two weeks for the premiere. For the first time, Cherry tells him she hates when he leaves. She puts her wedding ring back on. At the grand opening of the railroad museum, she spots Russ with his son. He sees her ring, squeezes her hand, and lets go. Cherry reflects that a life with him might have been lovely. Alone with Stevie, Cherry finally watches the Thursday trailer. It depicts The Guy, Tom's lead character in the comic, meeting Baby at a Christmas party. Tom's handwriting drops over the screen: "I just met the most beautiful girl." Cherry closes the laptop.

At the premiere, a reporter calls Cherry "Baby." Tom corrects her on camera: Baby is fictional, he says, while his wife is "infinite." In the final scene, Cherry has surprised Tom by flying to Los Angeles. He spots her in the hotel lobby and says, "Baby." Cherry nods.