Rachel Leibrock

The other night I finally had the chance to catch Obvious Child, the new film starring Jenny Slate. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie in the theater but I wanted to make sure I saw this one on the big screen–not for aesthetic reasons but for political ones. I want my money to register as part of its box office take.

Obvious Child is the story of Donna, a young, struggling stand-up comedian who after getting dumped by her boyfriend has a bit of a meltdown that results in a drunken hot mess of a stand-up set followed by a drunken hot mess of a hook-up with a guy who happens to be at the club that night (but, perhaps thankfully, didn’t catch her shitstorm set).

What happens next is both routine (routine, that is,  if you’re a 20 or 30-something female) and surprising. A few weeks later she finds out she’s pregnant. Donna is shocked, horrified even, but even as she leans on her best friend for support, she’s also remarkably calm about what will happen next: She’ll get an abortion.