Obvious Child
Gillian Robespierre’s debut takes two subjects Hollywood often mangles—stand-up comedy and unplanned pregnancy—and keeps the tortured stereotypes and soap-opera theatrics at bay. Better yet, it doesn’t feel like two movies awkwardly jammed together, thanks largely to the game-for-anything Jenny Slate (Parks and Recreation) as a Brooklyn bookstore clerk and aspiring comedian issuing foulmouthed quips with the gusto of peak-era Sandra Bernhard—just imagine a smaller, less intimidating version. Jake Lacy (The Office) nicely underplays the super-goy who knocks her up.
by Kathy Fennessy