Obvious Child: DVD Review
For aspiring comedian Donna Stern, everyday life as a female twenty-something provides ample material for her hysterical and relatable brand of humor, On stage, Donna is unapologeticly herself, joking about topics as intimate as her sex life and as crude as her day-old underwear. But when Donna winds up unexpectedly pregnant after a one-night stand, she is forced to face the uncomfortable realities of independent womanhood for the first time. Donna’s drunken hookup – and epic lapse in prophylactic judgement – turns out to be the beginning of a hilarious and totally unplanned journey of self-discovery and empowerment.
The Movie: What an interesting and REAL take on life! I watched this movie and got an idea of where it was going but was completely surprised on its level of realism. So a woman gets told that she is being cheated on. She later has a one-night stand and low and behold, she gets pregnant. Initially you assume “Ok, girl. Now you are about to see what it’s like to grow up fast.” And she did, but not in the way many might have assumed she did. I heard her say abortion and was quick to think she would change her mind. She later mentioned it to a friend who also at some point in her life had an abortion. She told her mom, who also earlier in her life had her abortion. So what was the trend in the film? Was the message that it’s acceptable to have one? This was another side of a pregnancy story. We live in a society that these sorts of topics get frowned upon and I think that it was a brave move by the creators. We don’t see too many stories that end like this. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I wasn’t mad nor happy, I was just there for a bit. Then I quickly snapped out of it and realized I can appreicate this. I really can. Life isn’t always about some type of fairy tale ending. Choices that we each might consider “easy” or “important” will be completely different from the person next to you. I definitely think this movie is capable of making you think and appreciate that we are all human. This movie is a must see for anyone tired of the same ol’ stories and feel like laughing too!
My Likes: Jenny Slate was suberb in this film. I loved her ability to be honest and true and I never found myself questioning her sincerity. She was Donna in every way. I admired her ability to be herself at every possible moment.
My Dislikes: My only complaint isn’t necessary on the movie itself or the main point, but the delivery of Donna’s announcement. Grant it, Donna in this film is brutally honest and uses the stage to expose her life behind jokes but I didn’t find her take on announcing her abortion on her set as anything to joke about. I’m not being a prude, trust me. I just felt it wasn’t the best choice for that type of news. Eh, but what do I know, right? And I feel that I missed something, but I didn’t quite get the connection with the movie title and the film…can anyone help?
Special Features:
Audio commentary with writer/director Gillian Robespierre, producer/co-writer Elisabeth Holm and actress Jenny Slate.
“The Making of Obvious Child” featurette – A great backstory on how the movie was created with Gillian Robespierre. Actors also share their insights on the film.
Extended Scenes
Obvious Child Short – The original short that started this whole film. I thought it was interesting how they were able to bring in a whole movie out of this short. I think they did a tremendous job in keeping the original story in tact but adding the much needed fillers to bring the whole story together.
