Obvious Child

Igniting controversy at its Sundance Film Festival debut, Gillian Robespierre's radical romantic dramedy centers on a bawdy standup comedienne: 28-year-old, self-absorbed, money-strapped Donna Stern (Jenny Slate). Recently dumped by her boyfriend, Donna spews her angry resentment out in a raunchy and raw nightclub act at a dingy Brooklyn dive bar. Then she meets Max (Jake Lacy), a preppie, straight-arrow, corporate WASP from Vermont who is obviously dazzled by Donna's brazen (if overly scatological) honesty. The pair impulsively hook up that night and her unprotected, rebound sex leads to an unexpected pregnancy. Even immature Donna realizes that having a baby at this point in her life would be disastrous—although she, not the fetus, is the obvious child here. Describing Max as “so Christian he's like a Christmas tree,” desperate Donna seeks solace from her best friend (Gaby Hoffmann) and divorced parents (Richard Kind, Polly Draper). But she can't seem to find the words to tell earnest, kind-hearted Max of her predicament during the two-week Planned Parenthood waiting time before she can have an abortion, while he, in turn, is puzzled by her awkward, erratic behavior. An edgy, female-centric film that will split audiences, this is a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer-director Gillian Robespierre, producer/co-writer Elisabeth Holm, and star Jenny Slate, a “making-of” featurette (25 min.), extended scenes (24 min.), Robespierre's same-titled 2009 short (21 min.), trailers, and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a love-it-or-hate-it film.] (S. Granger)