Synopsis
An immature, newly unemployed comic must navigate the murky waters of adulthood after her fling with a graduate student results in an unplanned pregnancy.
2014 Directed by Gillian Robespierre
An immature, newly unemployed comic must navigate the murky waters of adulthood after her fling with a graduate student results in an unplanned pregnancy.
Jenny Slate Jake Lacy Gaby Hoffmann Paul Briganti Stephen Singer Richard Kind Polly Draper Gabe Liedman Cindy Cheung Ernest Mingione Cyrus McQueen David Cross Maciek Jasik Jennifer Kim Suzanne Lenz Emily Tremaine Stacey Sargeant Brenda Birkeland Kelly Frances Ramsey Judith Reid Robert Conant Karla Conford Norm Gennarelli Pat Keegan Angeliki Koutsos Jackline F. Lamiscarre Eileen Landsman Gail Lott Peter Mastando Show All…
Jenny Slate Brent Stiefel Gillian Robespierre David Kaplan Stefan Nowicki Michael Sackler Sophie Vickers
Uma Notícia Inesperada, ילד בוודאות, Náhodná známost, Свой ребёнок, 平淡无奇的孩子, Entre Risos e Lágrimas, ילדה נצחית, Il bambino che è in me - Obvious Child, Copilul evident, Apaçık Çocuk, Детето в теб, Valentin-napi meglepetés, Una noticia inesperada, 아비어스 차일드, Своя дитина
Jenny Slate makes a poop joke, I smile a little bit, and that is what the movies are all about!
This movie shouldn't feel special. Underneath the extremely likable lead performances from Jenny Slate and Jake Lacy and the hot-button subplot, this is about as Sundancey as Sundance movies get. You've got your underestimated TV comedian making the leap to "serious" feature acting, you've got your (wo)man-child twentysomething protagonist who is avoiding adulthood and searching for meaning, and you've got you've got your soundtrack of twee acoustic rock. All that's really missing is the vintage VW bus and I think you've filled every blank in the Sundance screenplay Mad Lib.
What separates it from the pack is that strong female perspective (from Slate and writer/director Gillian Robespierre) and its deft, underplayed handling of the abortion, which is surprisingly mature for a movie about immature people. These things *should* be more commonplace; it *shouldn't* feel like a refreshing change of pace to see a smart, funny female-driven independent movie, but unfortunately it kind of does.
aka 4 POOP JOKES, 3 WEEKS, AND 2 JEWS.
ya know, this isn't a particularly great film (it's a first feature and it moves like one, but the), but i kind of wanted to cry the whole time? i dunno, it sure as shit is refreshing to see a film tackle abortion – which serves here as a water pail for a world of other crises – without all the fucking gravitas... to see a modest movie, a Brooklyn movie, isolate the human reality of the procedure away from its ***ISSUE.*** i mean, there are no Planned Protestors, there are no back and forth conversations... in fact, there's really no moral shading whatsoever. this is what she wants, and she's going to get it, and thank god she lives in a place where it's as simple as that (logistically, at least).
annnnnd cue a paul simon binge.
jenny slate deserves 5 stars but I'm subtracting 1 for the countless poop/fart jokes.
listen when I met Jenny Slate she asked me for my name, introduced me to her parents, and asked if I had eaten enough for dinner so the answer is yes, she is exactly as kind and wonderful as you would expect her to be and I trust her with my life.
remains the sweetest film, filled with these loving gestures that envelop you. the immediate reaction to break into the bread basket at a restaurant & warm someone’s butter packet for them!! a simple act that feels like a luxury. nothing compares to the bliss of witnessing such subtle care.
I'm incredibly glad that films like In A World and Frances Ha and this film are being made and are making it to theaters, but I suspect I'm never going to really love films about neurotic, immature, self-involved characters whose biggest problems are going through basic, generic life experiences, regardless of whether it's the millionth man-child movie or one of just a few films with female protagonists. In this case, the main character is getting dumped, getting drunk, and having probably-unprotected-but-she-can't-remember sex, which leads to pregnancy and an abortion, and that's pretty much the film. I love the director and star in interviews, where they come across as smart and committed to getting fresh voices onscreen, but this film just…