While it didn’t take any of the Sundance Film Festival awards earlier this year, one of the bigger breakout films from the Utah-set festival was “Obvious Child.” Starring comedienne and former ‘SNL‘ cast member Jenny Slate, the film centers on an unapologetically crude aspiring comedian whose world is turned upside down by a devastating break-up, getting fired from her job and an unplanned pregnancy.
Our review from Sundance called the film, “tough and funny, true and snappy… well-made and wickedly bold” and Slate was included in our 20 Breakout Actors, Directors & Talents From The 2014 Sundance Film Festival feature from earlier this year. Directed by Gillian Robespierre (who started out “Obvious Child” as a 2009 short), the picture also co-stars Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, David Cross, Gabe Liedman and Richard Kind. Here’s the full synopsis.
For aspiring comedian Donna Stern, everyday life as a female twenty-something provides ample material for her incredibly relatable brand of humor. On stage, Donna is unapologetically herself, joking about topics as intimate as her sex life and as crude as her day-old underwear. But when Donna gets dumped, loses her job, and finds herself pregnant just in time for Valentine’s Day, she has to navigate the murky waters of independent adulthood for the first time. As she grapples with an uncertain financial future, an unwanted pregnancy, and a surprising new suitor, Donna begins to discover that the most terrifying thing about adulthood isn’t facing it all on her own. It’s allowing herself to accept the support and love of others. And be truly vulnerable. Never failing to find the comedy and humanity in each awkward situation she encounters, Donna finds out along the way what it means to be as brave in life as she is on stage. Anchored by a breakout performance from Jenny Slate, OBVIOUS CHILD is a winning discovery, packed tight with raw, energetic comedy and moments of poignant human honesty. Writer/Director Gillian Robespierre handles the topic of Donna’s unwanted pregnancy with a refreshing matter-of-factness rarely seen onscreen. And with Donna, Slate and Robespierre have crafted a character for the ages – a female audiences will recognize, cheer for, and love.
The first trailer from the film has landed and you can watch that and a clip from the movie below. “Obvious Child” opens on June 6th via A24.