Movie Review: Obvious Child
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
Obvious Child is a new film that has its roots in a short film of the same name from 2009. The film relates the fall-out from a one-night stand by a stand-up comic trying to make her way in the world. The story is about an adult woman, who works in a very child-like profession that must handle various adult-level crises simultaneously.
Gillian Robespierre, a relative novice with a handful of credits, directed both this film and the short. This is her first feature-length directing job and she also is the primary writer of both the long and short version.
The film opens with Donna Stern (Jenny Slate) on stage engaged in a filthy and hilarious monologue. Donna is a stand-up comic working in Brooklyn. She is in her twenties and is relatively happy as an underpaid comic. By which I mean she has a menial job to help support herself but no real life-plan other than trying to perfect her comedy and enjoy life with her friends and boyfriend. Most importantly though she feels that she is on the only right path for her. The stage is where she feels at home. She is genuinely funny so it is hard to argue that.
Then road-bumps inevitably occur. Her boyfriend dumps her for another friend of hers (ex-friend to be more precise). Shortly afterwards she is told her bookstore job is ending due to the closure of the business. Since she lives with a roommate, Nellie (Gabby Hoffman), above the store that she works at, she is now in real trouble. No job. No home. No boyfriend. That leads Donna to an understandable lapse in alcohol-hazed judgment involving sex with Max (Jake Lacy). Stress reaction you could call it. Anyway in Donna’s case she ends up pregnant, of course.
The crisis point in Donna’s life is brought on by the real world need to make a decision about her pregnancy. Realistically she should likely have been making some better decisions or at least some more forward planning decisions for quite some time now. At least that is the loud and clear opinion held by her mother, Nancy Stern (Polly Draper). Mom is probably right. However, post-personal-apocalypse is not when anyone wants to hear that sort of helpful advice.
The other parent, Jacob Stern (Richard Kind), is great at the emotional and support aspect of mentoring Donna through a minor crisis as he is in an entertainment related profession too (he’s a puppeteer). The bonding between daughter and dad was warm and touching. It appears that for the heavy stuff though Donna needs more than her father is able to provide. This means that her gay best friend, Joey (Gabe Liedman), and her Nellie are her main support.
The weird thing that happens next is that this basically turns out to be a romantic comedy. I had hoped for much, much more comedy. But dramedy is what you get. That is my main beef with the script. More funny would have been awesome. I appreciate a good movie, but I really love a great comedy. On the other hand I must say that the direction here is smooth and almost invisible. The story unfolds like a story you would tell your friend while crouched in the slick seats of your local diner. A tragic tale filled with surprising moments that make you burst out laughing and ultimately leave you hoping it all works out for the characters involved.
Jenny Slate was the clear a star here, proving both funny and vulnerable. Overall, Obvious Child is a very good dramedy. It has some great laughs and great lines in it. I just wish it had focused a bit more on the comedy.
Steven Gahm
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