‘Obvious Child,’ The Abortion Rom-Com, Should Be Your Netflix Pick This Weekend
Shalom, team! It’s Friday. Shabbat bears down on us, like a beautiful, terrifying bat. And this weekend while you are avoiding the effects of global warming and looking for a bright jewel of culture to catch your eye and distract you from the pervasive darkness, may we suggest “Obvious Child.”
“Obvious Child” was build as a romantic comedy about abortion, and that is what it is. Written and directed by Gillian Robespierre in 2014, it stars Jewish archangel Jenny Slate as Donna, a woman who has one night of casual sex, gets pregnant, and decides to get an abortion. She’s spitefully adorable.
The movie isn’t a tough look at abortion with a glossy exterior; it’s a true comedy about someone in a difficult situation who also happens to be at the beginning of some kind of love story. The Office’s Jake Lacy plays Slate’s counterpart, and makes dealing with gynecological troubles look princely.
In “Obvious Child,” foreplay means dancing to Paul Simon
And best friends are Gaby Hoffman (you know! The younger sister in “Transparent”!)
Discussion of abortion is frank, but serious
And most importantly, it is by women, for women, dealing with issues specific to women
And of course, sensationally Jewish
This gif of Jenny Slate eating bread doesn’t express the movie’s Judaism, we just liked it. The Jewish moments were not gif-able! Please forgive.
“Obvious Child” is art. And as we speed towards a time where women’s rights to their own bodies will likely continue to be decimated, it’s also activism.
Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30