Anyone doubting that there’s a queer  baby boom going on need look no further than Inside Out this year, where baby-related films are all over the place – both figuratively and literally.

There’s one from Sweden, one from France and one homegrown entry, and they run the gamut from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Best of the bunch is gala opener Patrik, Age 1.5 (Thursday, May 14, 8 pm, Bloor; rating: NNNN), the story of Göran (a superb Gustaf Skarsgård) and Sven (Torkel Petersson), who get clearance to adopt only to discover that their “baby” is 15-year-old delinquent homophobe Patrik (Thomas Ljungman).

The young man quickly drives a wedge between the two and sets off sparks among neighbours already uneasy about the gay guys who’ve just moved in.

Patrik, Age 1.5 deals subtly with complex relationships. Sven’s already done the family thing in his het marriage and isn’t sure about parenting again. His ex connects with Göran in a touching way. And a charismatic Thomas Ljungman as Patrik has just the right combo of edge and need in relation to the parents he thinks he doesn’t want.

Director Ella Lemhagen, who co-wrote the play on which the film is based, makes the Stockholm suburb where the family lives seem tiny, perfect and slightly menacing, and her use of black-and-white baby monitor images is inspired.

Get out the handkerchiefs.

The New World (May 23, 7:30 pm, ROM; rating: NNN), from France, takes a more conventional approach. Two women want a baby, Lucie more than Marion. Sounds like it’s been done before, but the story is grounded in reality, with some intriguing twists. 

A childless straight friend gets sick of hearing all the baby talk; Lucie’s brother has a negative reaction to the plan – he grew up with hippie parents and hated his alternative household; Lucie’s a closeted teacher, and that can’t possibly last once she gets pregnant. And donor Hugo’s a little too enthusiastic about participating after the baby’s born.

Director Étienne Dhaene turns all these elements – including appealing leads Natalia Dontcheva and Vanessa Larré – into a very a entertaining, queer-positive film.

Sadly, the Canadian entry, The Baby Formula (May 22, 9:45 pm, Isabel Bader; rating: NN), is a mess. Athena (Angela Vint) gets pregnant via  revolutionary technology nobody’s used before that creates sperm from her lover, Lilith’s (Megan Fahlenbock), stem cells. Then Lilith gets pregnant using Athena’s stem cells – without telling Athena. Their future as parents looks mighty dim; they apparently don’t talk to each other.

The absurdity doesn’t stop there. Lilith’s parents are two alcoholic gay guys, and Athena’s are born-again Jesus freaks (a good performance by mum Rosemary Dunsmore).

It’s very cool that the movie was shot while Vint was pregnant in real life, but writer Richard Beattie doesn’t get that a story about women set to co-parent using sketchy tech offers tension enough. Piling on the farce just makes a complete wreck of it.