[dropcap]W[\/dropcap]hile not fitting into the traditional summer flick milieu\u00a0of heroes and awe-inspiring\u00a0explosions, “Obvious Child” packs its own surprising punch. It’s a romantic comedy that strays away from the traditional equation. When\u00a0most romantic comedies deal with a\u00a0beaten-down protagonist who\u00a0eventually gains\u00a0unequivocal improvement (and love in the process), “Obvious\u00a0Child” leaves the harsh realities of love and youth, ever-present throughout the film, for the audience to witness.<\/p>\n
“Obvious Child” tells the story of\u00a0Donna Stern, played by “Kroll Show” and “Parks & Rec” regular, Jenny Slate. She is a twenty-something-year old woman living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn who works at a bookstore by day and performs stand-up comedy in the evenings. Donna seems genuinely happy with where she is in her life, comfortable enough to make\u00a0jokes about her boyfriend and her love life in front of a dark room of hip New Yorkers. These humble beginnings seem quaint, ambitious and carefree \u2014 at least for the first ten minutes of the film.<\/p>\n
Director Gilliam Robespierre leaves no time for the audience to get acclimated with the characters and places, as Robespierre sets the breakup between Donna and her boyfriend at the very beginning\u00a0of the film. Not allowing the audience to get attached to the characters, they’re forced to share Donna’s emotional instability that comes from being blindsided by a breakup in a drab\u00a0bar bathroom in the middle of winter.<\/p>\n
Overlooking the serious and bleak nature of things to find the silver lining becomes\u00a0something of an art form for Slate and director Robespierre that sets the tone of the film, especially in the post-breakup standup set where Donna half-jokingly lets her audience know how she would kill both her ex-boyfriend and his current love interest in an act she playfully references as “murder-suey.” The occasional tasteless fart jokes also keeps the film easygoing\u00a0in light of Donna’s heartbreaking\u00a0experiences<\/p>\n
But because the film hits so hard with the feels early, everything else seems like a walk in the park \u2014 even the news of Donna being pregnant after hooking up with a random bar patron named\u00a0Max, played by Jake Lacy.\u00a0Donna is intent on going through with an abortion, even if it means having the procedure on February 14. Rather than politicizing talk of the abortion, the film stays within the moment and emphasizes the instability and uncertainty that dwells in the mind of someone in their mid-twenties.<\/p>\n
The journey delivers both touching moments and feelings of\u00a0isolation when Donna is interacting with her divorced parents, which\u00a0provides the binary between intimate coping and unfortunate\u00a0detachment. Donna’s hesitancy at meeting Max again, who she thinks is genuinely caring\u00a0despite their\u00a0unfortunate position, overshadows any concern about the abortion itself.\u00a0But the film’s\u00a0ability to move passed the traumatic experience is what sets this romantic comedy apart from all the rest. Essentially, the film is sweet narrative driven by an imminent\u00a0abortion, if\u00a0there was ever a film that can make\u00a0that bold and seemingly absurd claim.<\/p>\n
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[dropcap]W[\/dropcap]hile not fitting into the traditional summer flick milieu\u00a0of heroes and awe-inspiring\u00a0explosions, “Obvious Child” packs its own surprising punch. It’s a romantic comedy that strays away from the traditional equation. When\u00a0most romantic comedies deal with a\u00a0beaten-down protagonist who\u00a0eventually gains\u00a0unequivocal improvement (and love in the process), “Obvious\u00a0Child” leaves the harsh realities of love and youth, ever-present<\/p>\n