Will you watch ‘abortion comedy’ film Obvious Child when it hits cinemas?

Upcoming romantic-comedy film Obvious Child has decided to tell an 'abortion story' and show how a pregnancy doesn't need a baby to have a happy ending - will you be watching?

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by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

Pregnancy doesn't always end with a baby. Pregnancy isn't always a happy occasion, or expected - yet, in the world of cinema, almost every single pregnancy movie ends with a smiling woman cuddling up to her newborn baby.

However it isn't necessarily like that in the real world - and now spiky anti-romance film Obvious Child has decided to tackle the subject of abortion head on.

An upcoming film starring Jenny Slate and directed by Gillian Robespierre, Obvious Child is a romantic comedy where the main character, Donna (excuse us for the spoiler) has an abortion.

Why does she have an abortion? Because, after a one night stand, she finds herself accidentally pregnant - and in no desire to become a mother.

Thankfully for Donna, her best friend had an abortion in high school and her own mother had an illegal abortion when she was young, so she has plenty of support from the women around her - which, we imagine, will come in handy in a world where the termination of a pregnancy is such a taboo subject.

Jenny Slate, who plays Donna, explained to Cosmopolitan.com that the film - which is, yes, a comedy - expands the idea of abortion and situates it as one very common thing women do.

However, she adds, it is not the ONLY thing any woman does - and it does, by no means, define her life.

"It's important that, yes, Donna has the abortion and she makes the decision. But what's interesting to me is how she lives her daily life."

Obvious Child seeks to redress the way we view abortion
Obvious Child seeks to redress the way we view abortion

It's not the first time a film has attempted to show us a pregnancy with a different ending; Juno originally told us the story of a young teenager's decision to have her baby adopted, managing to mingle comedy with a very serious discussion about pregnancy.

Juno, similarly, tackled the difficult subject of unwanted pregnancy

And now Obvious Child has decided to tackle abortion in the same manner.

Critics who saw the film at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival praised its witty script, sharp performances and refusal to take the tried-and-tested romcom route.

However we predict that anti-abortionists will find the idea of an abortion taking centre stage in a movie - and having such a positive outcome - an offensive one.

Obvious Child will hit cinemas on 29th August 2014 - will you be going to see it?

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