Review of Obvious Child (2014) by Ken C — 26 Dec 2014

God, I am just on a roll with movies lately. This was another great one. Based on the first couple scenes, I didn't think the movie would be as funny as I'd hoped; the first stand-up set was funny but came on a little too strong for me, since it usually takes me a couple minutes to get used to really outspoken, goofy comedians like Jenny Slate. But around the time her depressing set started, I was laughing practically nonstop.

I wasn't a huge fan of Slate on SNL, and she's not one of my favorite recurring characters on Parks & Rec, but this movie definitely made me a huge fan. As I kept watching Donna, I had this desperate wish that she could exist in real life and become my best friend, along with Gaby Hoffmann and Gabe Liedman's characters. In past years, I've had lots of male characters in TV who I look at and say, "I wish this guy was my best friend," partly because of how funny they are, but this year in film and TV, I've found a ton of female characters that make me say the same thing. Between the stars of Broad City and Jenny Slate in Obvious Child, it's hard to argue that women aren't funny anymore (not that I've ever thought that; it's an oddly common stereotype, though).

The movie is structured in kind of an odd way, without a conventional rom-com arc, and around three quarters through, I had the kind of weird feeling that we were still in the exposition stage, as if there was a whole other story that would follow the abortion. Oddly, though, this wasn't a negative feeling; it just took me a moment to realize that what I was watching WAS the story, not a buildup to the story. There are only wisps of conflict throughout - Donna wonders whether she should tell Max about the pregnancy, while also grappling with whether to pursue a relationship - but like I said, they're only wisps, and most of them are resolved within a couple of scenes. But I never minded the lack of conflict, or the weird structure of the movie, because it was all so fun and funny and cool. It was really refreshing to see the positive portrayal of abortion, too, and they struck the perfect balance, not making it seem like a scary, horrible thing but not trivializing it either. Having Donna talk to Nellie and her mother about abortion was an excellent (and funny) way to make clear the physical and emotional painlessness of the procedure while still showing the weight of the decision and without dismissing people who'd be more leery. The balance Robespierre struck was really impressive.

Lastly, the romance aspect of the movie was well-played, too. Any scene between Jenny Slate and Jake Lacy was hilarious and great, and there was something so beautiful about Donna and Max publicly peeing together, then Max farting in Donna's face and her laughing. I loved the way Max quietly joined Donna for her trip to the procedure, and the quiet, elegant way the movie ended, without any fireworks or big romantic embraces. I also like that Max wasn't made out to be some Manic Pixie Dream Boy, some outgoing male equivalent of Donna. He was an excellent straight man with a more down-to-earth sense of humor, and I really liked seeing Jake Lacy again after enjoying him in The Office.

Overall, this movie succeeded on pretty much every level, portraying abortion in a really sensitive manner, eschewing some rom-com conventions, being absolutely hilarious with some great cast members, and creating vivid, realistic characters. The short length suited it well, but my only complaint is that I wish I didn't have to let go of these awesome characters after only 84 minutes.