{"id":3018,"date":"2016-03-22T21:11:13","date_gmt":"2016-03-23T01:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=3018"},"modified":"2026-10-02T14:32:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:32:20","slug":"obvious-child-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=3018","title":{"rendered":"Obvious Child-2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Obvious Child-2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Gillian Robespierre<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Jenny Slate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #387<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"70301275\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed March 22, 2016<\/p>\n

Grade: C+<\/strong><\/p>\n

Obvious Child is a 2014 independent comedy\/drama nominated for a couple of Independent Spirit Awards, with mixed results.<\/p>\n

It works on some levels but has an irritating underbelly and some unneeded components that ultimately give it a thumbs down.<\/p>\n

The major success is star Jenny Slate, a real-life Brooklyn stand-up comic with immeasurable comic timing, who will hopefully become a rising star.<\/p>\n

Slate starred in a 2009 short film of the same name before it became a full-length feature.<\/p>\n

Slate stars as a twenty-eight-year-old Brooklynite, who moonlights as a stand-up comic in a dingy bar while working in a desolate bookstore that is soon closing.<\/p>\n

Conversely, her parents are successful- her mother is a famed professor. When her steady boyfriend unceremoniously dumps her, she takes up with a handsome young man for a one-night stand filled with fun.<\/p>\n

Predictably, she winds up pregnant and forges ahead with a plan to abort their child.<\/p>\n

The abortion story is quite interesting since there is never a doubt about what will happen.<\/p>\n

Unlike films that make abortion the main focus of conflict, Obvious Child wisely does not- every character supports, and even encourages her to have the procedure, including her mother and best friend.<\/p>\n

Having been written and directed by women, this is intentional and a way of empowering women, which is one of the high points. If one is on the fence about the topic of abortion or is a pro-life stance, this film may be very tough to watch as its slant is made crystal clear.<\/p>\n

Slate is the other high point of the film.<\/p>\n

She exudes confidence and comic range. Jewish and slightly awkward-looking, she is not the leading-lady type, and this arguably makes her wit and sarcastic language even funnier.<\/p>\n

She is a natural in comedy, and I hope she goes far.<\/p>\n

Two slight props for me worth mentioning are the wonderful mention of the classic film Gone with the Wind (1939) and the setting of Brooklyn. This was a great nod to film history, and the setting gave Obvious Child an authentic New York City feel.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, an utter annoyance about Obvious Child is\u00a0the shameless and constant use of blatant and off-putting bathroom humor- not just once or twice, but numerous times.<\/p>\n

How is this necessary to the plot? I can’t say, but I surmise the filmmakers deemed it necessary to show that females can give as good as males can.<\/p>\n

Almost saying, “men can make poop jokes, why can’t women”? Why this is necessary for any film is beyond me, and it gives Obvious Child a crass, ugly feel.<\/p>\n

The film also feels unrealistic.<\/p>\n

Max is portrayed as Prince Charming. He can do no wrong, supports Donna in any decision she makes, is enamored by her sole being, and loves her unconditionally after only a one-night stand.<\/p>\n

This would not happen in real life.<\/p>\n

The fact that Donna is Jewish and quirky and Max is Christian and straight-laced is not explored. What conflicts would they undoubtedly face? Why were his parents not featured?<\/p>\n

Highly uneven, with a great premise and an interesting slant on a still-controversial social issue, Obvious Child (2014) succeeds in the story department but fails in its uncalled-for use of potty humor to elicit cheap laughs.<\/p>\n

Independent Spirit Award Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>Best Female Lead-Jenny Slate, Best First Feature<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Obvious Child-2014 Director Gillian Robespierre Starring Jenny Slate Scott’s Review #387 Reviewed March 22, 2016 Grade: C+ Obvious Child is a 2014 independent comedy\/drama nominated for a couple of Independent Spirit Awards, with mixed results. It works on some levels but has an irritating underbelly and some unneeded components that ultimately give it a thumbs … Continue reading Obvious Child-2014<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,49,192,41,215,211,227,11667,45,222],"tags":[12799,12800,4465,4463,4464,4462,12801,5695],"class_list":["post-3018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2014-films","category-comedies","category-dramas","category-indiefilms","category-indie-comedies","category-indie-dramas","category-indie-romantic-comedies","category-new-york-city","category-romcoms","category-romantic-dramas","tag-david-cross","tag-gabe-liedman","tag-gaby-hoffmann","tag-gillian-robespierre","tag-jake-lacy","tag-jenny-slate","tag-polly-draper","tag-richard-kind"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3018"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24692,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3018\/revisions\/24692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}