Laughter from Pain

Obvious Child finds the funny in an unlikely topic

Movies are so homogenized in the 21st century that it counts as a shock when a film takes a true risk. That is certainly the case with Obvious Child, a comedy that dares to broach a hot-button issue — and is all the more funny because of it.

The film follows Donna (Jenny Slate), a stand-up comedian who, in short order, gets broken up with and loses her day job at a soon-to-close bookstore. Rocked by the double dose of bad news, she turns to drinking, has a one-night stand with Max (Jake Lacy) and soon thereafter discovers she is pregnant.

Those who see the words “comedy about abortion” and shun it right away will be missing a heartfelt and truly funny movie.

So where’s the controversy? Well, Donna quickly and unflinchingly decides she wants to have an abortion, a choice that not only causes her no existential guilt, but is also one that writer/director Gillian Robespierre somehow mines for laughs.

To be fair, the film’s comedy isn’t about abortion itself, but it also never backs away from the topic.

The decision and the relative ease with which it is treated stand in stark contrast to how the subject is normally handled. It helps matters that the character who makes the choice is a comedian, giving the audience tacit permission to laugh at pretty much anything she does.

Also aiding in the laughs is Donna’s growing bond with Max, a guy who turns out to be a bit better than your normal one-night stand. By exploring whether or not Donna and Max want to give a relationship a shot with the impending abortion hanging over their heads, Robespierre has given the tired “will they or won’t they?” plot a welcome and inspired twist.

Slate, who also starred in the short film on which the feature is based, impresses greatly as Donna. She’s hilarious, vulnerable and charming, but more important, she sells the conceit of the movie without a hint of preachiness.

Also great is Lacy, who manages to come across as both humble and supremely confident at the same time. Previously best known for his role during the final season of The Office, this part has the potential to catapult him into movie stardom.

Special mention should also be made of Gaby Hoffman and Gabe Liedman as Donna’s two best friends, and Richard Kind and Polly Draper as her parents. Each brings real humor and honesty to his or her respective roles, which keeps the rest of the film flowing as it should.

There will be those who see the words “comedy about abortion” and shun it right away, but they’ll be missing a genuine, heartfelt and truly funny movie. Obvious Child is an apolitical film that cares only about people and laughs. Isn’t that refreshing?

Jake Lacy and Jenny Slate face an issue in Obvious Child that doesn't usually come up in rom-coms.

Jake Lacy and Jenny Slate in Obvious Child

Photo by Chris Teague

Jake Lacy and Jenny Slate face an issue in Obvious Child that doesn't usually come up in rom-coms.

Movie Review

Lord of the Rings animated sequel is competent but not Oscar material

Hèra (Gaia Wise) in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Hèra (Gaia Wise) in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

The Peter Jackson-led Lord of the Rings movie trilogy in the early 21st century was such a smashing success that people have been trying to recreate that magic for a long time. First came the ill-conceived The Hobbittrilogy, which made lots of money despite mostly poor reviews. The recent Amazon TV series, The Rings of Power, has gotten generally good reviews, but doesn’t seem to hold a place in the wider pop culture consciousness.

And now comes The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an anime-style film that seems like an attempt at both reclaiming the world in animated form from the weird 1978 film, and a nostalgia play for fans of the original series. Set 200 years before the events in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, it nonetheless takes place in two very familiar locations that are recreated to appear exactly like they looked in Jackson’s films.

The story centers around Hèra (voiced by Gaia Wise), the only daughter of King Helm (Brian Cox) of Rohan. An early conflict with Lord Freca (Shaun Dooley) leads Freca’s son, Wulf (Luca Pasqualino), to develop a deep grudge against Helm and his family. Wulf pursues that ill will for years, eventually driving his foes into a fortress in a valley to make a final stand against his aggression.

Based on information found in the appendices of Tolkien’s novels, this is the rare instance when choosing to use animation holds back the creativity of a film. Typically, animation allows filmmakers to do things that wouldn’t be possible in the real world, but director Kenji Kamiyama and his team seem beholden to the look of Jackson’s films. While the animation itself is great, it doesn’t offer the fluidity of live action, and so the action scenes are often stilted and flat.

The story itself is not very compelling, as a quartet of screenwriters have concocted a plot that relies on revenge and heroism tropes that allow the audience to predict almost everything that happens. There are a few surprises to be had, but as the conflict revolves around a strong-willed female and her unwillingness to be told whom to marry, it’s generally clear how the story will be resolved, with only the specific details left to be discovered.

It also would have been great if the film weren’t so dependent on nostalgia for the original films. The two main locations are ones that played a big part in set pieces from those films, and their usage here doesn’t measure up favorably. Eowyn (Miranda Otto) serves as narrator, and other characters/actors from the original trilogy also make appearances, leaving little room for this film to establish itself on its own terms.

The majesty of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, with its New Zealand vistas and incomparable visuals created by Wētā Workshop, set a high bar that none of the subsequent projects have been able to meet. The War of the Rohirrim is a competently-made film, but it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny with the Oscar-quality work of 20+ years prior.

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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim opens in theaters on December 13.

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