[Movie Review] Obvious Child (2014)
Director: Gillian Robespierre
Writers: Gillian Robespierre (written by, based on the short film by), Karen Maine (story, based on the short film by), Elisabeth Holm (story), Anna Bean (based on the short film by)
Runtime: 83 min
Main Cast:
- Jenny Slate as Donna Stern
- Jake Lacy as Max
- Gaby Hoffmann as Nellie
- Gabe Liedman as Joey
- David Cross as Sam
- Richard Kind as Jacob Stern
- Polly Draper as Nancy Stern
Review: by Anthony and Lee
We enjoy Jenny Slate. Having seen her on various NBC comedy shows such as Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation, we knew she was funny, so, with that in mind, we were intrigued to see her as the lead in a romantic comedy.
Dropping us in the middle of Donna Stern’s (Jenny Slate) 10-minute stand-up comedy set at the bar, Obvious Child provided an interesting look into her life. Witnessing her break-up, the closing of the bookshop where she worked, and her unexpected conception during a random hook-up were just some of the tidbits that this slice-of-life movie revealed.
What We Didn’t Like:
Whether it is clever banter, dry British humor, well done slapstick, or the hard to get right “dark comedy,” we typically love most comedy movies. Obvious Child took the topic of abortion and tried to make it funny, and it did not work for us. We will not apologize for our beliefs, nor will we reason that abortion should be amusing to people who do not share our particular point of view. The trivialization of such a grave subject matter is no focus for a supposed romantic comedy.
When the jokes were not focused on the murder of an unborn child, they were crude and gross “bro” conversations filled with weak fart jokes. Donna’s style of stand up comedy was to discuss her intimate personal life with the public, including but not limited to her terrible sex life and the status of her underwear at the end of the day. That raunchy style of lewd comedy is not anything new. You can find any number of comedians doing exactly that. Louis C.K. and Dave Attell both use that style of comedy, yet the difference between them and Obvious Child is clear. They are good at it, and Obvious Child was not.
Apart from the off color comedy, Obvious Child tried to be a romantic comedy and missed the mark there as well. There is obviously a typical set-up for romantic comedies. They follow a pretty specific pattern. We completely understand that movies are trying to break the mold and try something different these days, avoiding tropes, but we like those things about romantic comedies. We go to see romantic comedies specifically to see those tropes. They are comforting and enjoyable. If a movie tears away from the set pattern to do something new and original, that can be great, but unfortunately that does not describe Obvious Child.
This was one of the few movies where the story did not benefit from a short runtime. Just when the story looked like it was finding a solid starting point and things were really going to get going, the movie ended. The movie took what we enjoyed the most and trimmed it down to next to nothing. It was hard to see the romance in it at all by the time it was done.
What We Liked:
Terrible subject matter aside, Obvious Child was a comedy. There were some jokes here and there and some improved ad libs that made us chuckle. There was a good joke about the absurdity of getting broken up with in a bathroom by somebody that can’t even dedicate their whole attention to you because they’re busy texting.
Most of the things we found amusing, however, were not the ones the movie was obviously pushing. We also enjoyed what the movie did show of the relationship between the two love interests. The scenes between them were the best in the entire movie.
Summary
Obvious Child was not for us. It was a crude romantic comedy without the romance.
Images courtesy of IMDB -© 2014 – A24
