Obvious Child

When you see as many movies as I do in the theater, you also happen to see the same trailer for a particular movie about a million times. And it never fails, there is always that one movie that looks absolutely awful and I tell myself repeatedly that there is no way on this green earth that I will ever see it! But as I see the preview over and over again, I gradually start talking myself into it and eventually I end up getting kind of excited about its release. It's kind of like seeing that one ugly girl at the office every day; pretty soon you no longer notice the fact that she has really big teeth and you all of a sudden find yourself thinking that she's actually kind of hot. And that's the perfect description of Obvious Child. It had the usual blurbs that you see in all previews now : "Genius" " A refreshing rom-com" "This is why we go to the movies". That alone almost drove me away; not to mention the fact that rom-com has basically become a bad word now. Whenever you see it, you instantly think that boring, trite, and unrealistic nonsense is on the horizon. But thankfully this is refreshing (I couldn't help myself) break from the norm.

Obvious Child is the story of Donna (Jenny Slate), a twenty-something year old underground comedian who lives in New York City. She gets dumped by her boyfriend in a unisex restroom immediately following one of her shows, and everything that takes place soon after this changes her life forever. One night while in the middle of her borderline self destructive grieving period, she meets what she considers to be a choir boy at the club where she performs. After having quite a few drinks and dancing off beat for a few hours, they have a rather funny one night stand together. Donna leaves without saying goodbye the next morning but a few weeks later she realizes that she is pregnant. Being a poor comedian who works in and lives above a bookstore, she immediately decides that having an abortion is what's best for her. It isn't until the day that Max (the choir boy) randomly shows up at the bookstore to ask her out on a proper date, that the thought of letting him know about the pregnancy even pops in her head. And this is where the meat of the story lies. Does he even deserve to know? Should she tell him? And if so, how? And is she even ready to allow herself to be in a relationship considering how much of an emotional wreck she is?

Well what makes this movie work is the fact that you instantly fall in love with Donna because she is this totally raw, open, and honest person; both in life and on stage. It also helps that she just so happens to be unbelievably adorable, even though she's telling jokes about vaginal discharge in women's panties and farting after a date is over. And I have to say that it feels as though this role was written specifically for Slate as she wears Donna's anxious disposition like that of a warm coat that you throw over you when it's freezing outside. Bringing out Donna's charm and quick wit just comes natural to Slate. And I know that that was a cheesy analogy but it was either the warm coat or an old man slipping into his trusty robe. I had a friend who always wore this disgusting robe with presumably nothing underneath it out to the pool every holiday; so I couldn't write about that because it just brings back these horrible memories.

Anyway, I was the only male in the entire theater and the women were eating up every word that came out of Donna's mouth. It seems as if they all had a personal connection with what she was saying and with what she was going through. I was the only idiot laughing out loud at all the really inappropriate jokes; which of course led to some angry stares from the Fiona Apple look-alikes that were sitting next to me. But I didn't care, it was cool to watch a movie that attacked a controversial issue like this in such a funny yet real manner. For the most part it stayed away from being preachy however there was one scene with the detestable Gabby Hoffman (Girls) where she's yelling about old flabby politicians and their desire to control her body. The good thing is, Donna and her best friend make fun of her for randomly yelling for no apparent reason, and in doing so they kind of reel you back into the movie experience that you were temporarily kicked out of.

What I personally connected with was how Donna handled the breakup; with her leaving multiple drunk messages on her ex's voice mail, the borderline stalking of him and his new girlfriend, and the public and rather embarrassing displays of sorrow she had. Not to mention the fact that the perfect replacement was trying his absolute best to win over her affection but she was so distraught by the recent events in her life that she couldn't focus on anything else. Now some might think that Max was too good to be true and that this would never happen in real life but they are the perfect description of my parents; one being the ultimate life of the party and the other being the devout church goer. So I've grown up my entire life seeing how complete opposites can attract, and I was able to buy the fact that these two would be drawn to one another.

There are a ton of jokes they couldn't show in the trailer and this movie exposes you to a side of women that I haven't seen since Sex and the City. Yes I watched that show and yes I am straight. It's bold, funny, and I left the theater feeling as if I had seen something original. I rate this movie as very FRESH and I suggest you check it out.