Obvious Child (2014)
August 11, 2014 8:43 AM - Subscribe

A romantic comedy about an abortion!
posted by latkes (11 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
OK so this movie made me laugh a lot.

Also, it's the only movie I recall ever directly portraying abortion, and in many ways feels like a response to Juno or other ostensibly pro-choice movies which ultimately shy away from portraying that as a real choice.

Also, I liked how not every detail was handed to the viewer on a plate, and there's a lot we don't know at the end regarding the love interest or what's going to happen after the movie is over. In this way it felt especially believable.

Also, there's a lot of vagina jokes.
posted by latkes at 8:49 AM on August 11, 2014 [3 favorites]


I loved this movie so much.

Like I was politically and morally predisposed to like it because of the way the subject matter is treated (beautifully matter-of-fact but not happening in a vacuum where abortion is
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:52 AM on August 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


I really liked it as well. It was honest and funny and dorky and cute.
posted by suelac at 12:10 PM on August 11, 2014


Sorry I guess I hit post rather than closing the window when it turned out I wouldn't have time to write the comment I wanted.

Anyway, to, at least conclude the paragraph:


Like I was politically and morally predisposed to like it because of the way the subject matter is treated (beautifully matter-of-fact but not happening in a vacuum where abortion is an 'obviously easy' choice, just the right one for this woman) but I liked the characters enough that I'd wanted to see how it all turned out even if she hadn't accidentally become pregnant.

(More later)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:35 PM on August 11, 2014 [2 favorites]


I really liked this movie and was so glad that it took the route it did.

I was a little confused on how she finally managed to pay for the whole thing, but more important was that they raised the issue explicitly in the movie.

Nice to see Polly Draper again, too.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 1:09 PM on August 11, 2014


I went to see this at the local theater a few weeks ago and was really pleased with it. Jenny Slate was charming and hilarious (as usual), and I really appreciated the way she played her character.

Several people in the theater said "Wait, that's it?" when it was over, and I sort of felt the same way - not like it wasn't resolved, but like I wanted to watch more, I liked the characters and I wanted to know what happened to them as they continued to move through life. I didn't feel unsatisfied by the ending; it was actually very satisfactory. I continue to find myself thinking of it even a few weeks later, which for me indicates that it was a good movie.

There were a few little "easy" coincidences in the movie that really helped to drive the plot along, but they didn't feel cheap or manufactured to me - more serendipitous. That's particularly tricky to pull off, but they did a nice job with aligning the seams and letting the plot pull itself through time without it feeling hamfisted or obvious for me as a viewer.

tl;dr A++ would watch again.
posted by sockermom at 2:15 PM on August 11, 2014 [2 favorites]


I really loved the portrayal of parenting in the film, especially her relationship with her mother. Also, so many vagina jokes talking about so many aspects of being a lady that I don't think I've ever heard articulated on screen?
posted by likeatoaster at 5:31 AM on August 12, 2014 [3 favorites]


My sweetie also pointed out the relationship with her parents which was exceptional. I like too how the two parents are totally different yet both such close loving parents. In general, the lead has such a supportive team of family and friends around her, which is really sweet.

One minor ideological quibble: the "gay sidekick" thing really reminded me of a million movies and TV shows from the 90s when queer rights had advanced enough that we were allowed to appear in films, but not enough that we could be leads in films. On the OTHER hand, I guess Jenny Slate and Gabe Liedman are a real-life comedy team so...
posted by latkes at 8:00 AM on August 12, 2014 [2 favorites]


Man, I forgot the reason I posted this and it's probably fallen off the radar now but I'm curious if anyone else thought this was an example of a Manic Pixie Dreamgirl movie, but from the trope's point of view. Anyone?
posted by latkes at 7:20 PM on August 14, 2014 [1 favorite]


I watched this on iTunes the other day and laughed out loud so many times. I thought it was a completely believable and relatable movie. For once the whip-smart repartee is reserved for professional comedians, while ordinary people are kind of dull, just like in real life, but their charm makes them likeable anyway.

I found Jenny's uncertainty of a future with the baby daddy so believable - they were drunk when they met and she is realistic about their differences.

I loved how economically the director was able to portray her relationship with her parents. We immediately sense how close she is to her father and that her mother doesn't get her.

This is an important movie as it gently reminds us that the age of illegal abortions was truly scary and dark and not that far away from us.
posted by Dragonness at 11:11 AM on September 29, 2014 [4 favorites]


I had heard of this movie but it wasn't on my list, but I watched it with my roommate last night and I'm so glad I did. I loved it.

-I wasn't aware going in that this was billed as a romantic comedy, and while I could tell that it clearly followed the beats of a romcom, it wasn't about the romance, and that was so refreshing. Max could easily have vanished from the story after they had sex and it would still have been a powerful movie. That's not to say he should have, I liked his character a lot, but I appreciated how much the story still focused on Donna and her experiences.

-latkes - as you say, in some ways this totally feels like a response to Juno. Clearly in terms of the subject matter, but also in how naturalistic it is. Juno went out of its way to heighten the dialogue and make it super mannered and self-consciously witty, but this movie presented various over-the-top ramblings in a way that felt completely real to me.

-That scene where Donna finally tells her mom, and her mom holds her and tells about her own abortion and then quickly wipes away a couple of tears while Donna isn't looking, and Donna just quietly says "I didn't know that"? Fuck, that was devastating. I just cried a little bit while typing this.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:12 AM on February 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


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