Obvious Child (2014)

 

Genre: Indie/ Romance/ Comedy

Time: 1h 30mins

Director: Gillian Robespierre

Quick Summary: A twenty-something comedienne's unplanned pregnancy forces her to confront the realities of independent womanhood for the first time.

Just a bit silly, a little bit funny, but mostly cute.

The humour, well, you'll either find it funny or the most unfunny thing you've seen as it focuses on the leading woman making fun of herself in rude ways such as the amount she farts, or making fun of her relationship. Some parts were funny, but a lot of it was kind of cringe. When the humour wasn't focused on that, and focused more on awkwardness or just being a bit of a quirky person, I enjoyed it more. The film heavily relies on humour, particularly around the topic of abortions. However, it does not criticize them but rather employs humour to lighten the impact of a potentially frightening situation. Honestly, I feel like some people will be able to relate to this as well as everything that happens in this is incredibly realistic. 

Most of the characters were honestly really forgettable aside from the leading woman, Jenny Slate, who basically plays a woman-child who is struggling to cope with the fact she has to become an adult. Shame this film heavily relies on her acting as there is absolutely nothing visually that is interesting, which isn't always needed yes, but it looks kind of dull and nothing special happens with the camera. Usually just a lot of straight still shots of characters talking or doing things.

The romance side of this film is really where I liked this, as this was pretty cute to me. It might be clichéd in some parts, but there is chemistry between Slate and Jake Lacy, who plays the sweet and patient guy she meets during one of her shows. The film works best when the two are together, you get that uncomfortable feeling from both when they first meet or when they want to communicate something to each other that comes with getting to know someone new, which was quite heartwarming to watch.

Overall, this was okay to watch. It was cute, sometimes a bit over the top with its humour, but a nice simple film to pass the time with.

5/10

"Nellie: You are gonna *kill* it out there.

Donna Stern: I actually have an appointment to do that tomorrow."

"Do you want to watch a movie?

Always."