Review: Obvious Child

Release date: June 6, 2014 (DC area June 13)
Running time: 85 minutes
Starring: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, David Cross
Who to see it with: Anyone who has lived in New York

David:

One of the things I love about independent movies is the opportunity those movies give to lessor known actors. You can see some stars you've never heard of--or only seen tangentially--shine when they're finally given the chance. I didn't know who Jenny Slate was, but after Obvious Child, I'm excited to see what she does next. The movie doesn't bill itself very well; it seems like a vehicle for a stand-up comic to make the jump to major films. But don't let the terrible trailer steer you wrong. What you get with Obvious Child is a unique movie that feels very genuine in its humor and message.

What I loved about the film are the various personalities that you meet. The characters are all fairly extreme caricatures of individuals you would meet in New York, but in the context of the film, they fit perfectly. The humor is fairly modern and pretty raunchy at times, but those hoping for a little more edge to their movies will appreciate it. And the humor is not all stand-up; Jenny Slate's routines make up an important part of the film but they are not even a majority of the movie. The rest of the humor is in the context of ridiculous and realistic conversations between the characters. The plot of the film focuses on a situation that is easily relatable to. And that is probably the great thing about Obvious Child, it's a film that straddles the line between believable and silly, and does it perfectly. It's a genuinely funny film, with an equal combination of crazy and heart. 

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