I'm really, really fighting the urge to make a joke on Obvious Child's title to lead off the article. By that, I mean that most of the film, of course, is pretty damn obvious. It's exactly what you would expect from an Indie Romantic Comedy, besides, you know, that abortion thing.
Obvious Child, the feature film debut of Gillian Robespierre, is largely hit and miss. A lot of the humor misses, but the film's heart and handling of a ridiculously touchy topic is where it succeeds. Jenny Slate delivers a fine performance, although she is weighed down by fairly typical "quirky" jokes about farting and inappropriate comments. In 2014, it's pretty familiar, but not quite yet tired. Slate carries the film completely as Donna, and shines during the emotional climaxes: Donna's conversation with her mother, and the final stand-up routine, which honestly, isn't... really funny. At all. Sure, in a filmic sense the scene works as she confronts Max, the business man who impregnated her, her insecurities, and her apparent stage fright, but the audiences guffawing actually becomes distracting.
The film handles Donna's complicated relationship with Max in a somewhat unique fashion, although it still neatly hits the conventional ups and downs of a romantic comedy. Max isn't really given a lot of dialogue, but Robespierre perfectly characterizes him by his fashion, sense of humor, and actions, most importantly his handling of Donna's abortion. The abortion is dealt with in a decidedly modern manner, completely refusing to moralize the decision, a route many films would take, and even sparing us the convention of Donna changing her mind. It's the modern world. Donna can't have a child. She knows it. Sure, there's some weight attached to the decision, but there are no last minute revelations. Donna's relationships through the film are all shaped by her decision, but in Obvious Child, all are supportive and encouraging.
Despite Max being a 'good character,' the film certainly suffers through the conventions of the romantic comedy. It seems strange how liberated Donna is in the film, yet the film its self is tied down to flat out boring romantic storytelling. The conventions are all there: Donna struggles in her job. She loses her boyfriend, and we are subjected to a scene where she waits outside of his door, counting sips in her coffee. The supporting cast is fairly generic. However, Gabby Hoffman is quite good in the "best girl friend" role. The scene where Donna waits on the pregnancy test while Hoffman's Nellie pees on the toilet is hilarious- until its shattered by another maddening indie rom-com convention, where Donna imagines herself as the DJ, and visualizes stylized flashbacks.
However, the absolute worst part of the film is the borderline offensive inclusion of the "gay best friend." The gay fellow comedian is a by-the-book gay stereotype that's ridiculously outdated. It's absolutely strange that such a character, who can barely say a line without mentioning how gay he is, exists in a film that is otherwise so modern. The gay best friend is only in a few scenes, but is always there to point out how hot Max is, or how shocked people would be if he was pregnant! Because he's gay! Get it!?
Robespierre's debut is certainly interesting, flawlessly taking on a incredibly difficult subject, and manages to find the humor of it, as well as the emotional core, all while refusing to moralize the situation in any way. the films flaws lie not in its tackling of the abortion, but in the secondary plots, relying on boring, even offensively boring, characters, and ultimately ending the love story on a weak open-ended note. However, despite the criticisms, Obvious Child earns its title as the Indie Comedy of the season. Robespierre makes an exciting debut, leaving me very excited for her future as a filmmaker, and boats a potentially star-making performance of Jenny Slate, although she should be lauded more for the dramatic performance than the comedic.
