Check It Out:
Obvious Child
June 9, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Obvious Child, the new film by Gillian Robespierre which bills itself as “An Abortion Comedy,” is a breath of fresh air and a lot of fun. In it, Donna Stern (played by Jenny Slate) is a 20-something stand-up comedian who goes through a painful break-up, has an exuberant one-night stand, and then discovers to her great dismay that she has become pregnant. We watch as she navigates everything this news means: whether to tell her mother, how to respond to the guy involved, where she will come up with the funds, and what it means that the only abortion appointment that will work for her is on Valentine's Day. Never does she agonize about the abortion itself. Never for a second does she consider having a child. Nor does anyone in her life pressure her against abortion. In fact, to her great relief, the person she most fears will judge her opens up with her own stories of abortion, which took place before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal. While it is clear that Donna is not the most responsible person in every aspect of her life, it is also clear that her decision to get an abortion was profoundly responsible. All of this is done with a great deal of humor, emotional honesty, and without a trace of cynicism.
This is incredibly refreshing and important. Not only are abortion rights across the country in an all-out state of emergency with many states down to only one abortion clinic left and new laws closing down clinics all over the country—but abortion has never been more stigmatized and it has been many years since there was an uncomplicated, unstigmatized portrayal of abortion in mainstream culture. For most young people, this film will be the first time they see abortion dealt with as it should be—as a routine and necessary part of life. As actor Jenny Slate put it, challenging portrayals in movies like Knocked Up and Juno where women who are at first distressed to find themselves pregnant go on to discover great fulfillment in having those babies, “A woman who is not ready to have a baby making it work is not a happy ending to me,” she said. “It’s a personal nightmare.”
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