Kinda Pregnant Review

Amy Schumer is well known for creating relatable female characters. Her previous films Trainwreck, I Feel Pretty and Snatched dared tread new ground for female-based comedies, starring women and men who broke the traditional romantic comedy stereotypes. Her last movies each featured genuinely relatable women and circled the real struggle of trying to love your body, job, relationship, and Mother. However, it’s difficult to imagine her newest film, Kinda Pregnant, connecting to anybody in the same way as her previous offerings. Unless you’ve told a dangerous and somewhat disgusting lie to everyone who has ever loved and cared for you, it’s really hard to see who this film is for.

It’s one thing to pretend to be pregnant so you can snag a seat on the train, but it’s a whole other kind of crazy to lie to your friends and new boyfriend about having a child on the way. Unfortunately, this is the route Kinda Pregnant takes. The film follows Lainy, a recently single teacher who has always dreamed of becoming a Mum. When her best friend Kate announces her pregnancy, Lainy spirals, and in a jealous outburst, half-jokingly tells her friend to get an abortion. Feeling left out, Lainy starts to wear a fake pregnancy belly out in public, soon discovering that she is showered with positive attention from strangers when she does. Basking in the win of a guaranteed seat on the subway and wholesome cat calls from men on the street, Lainy takes her fake pregnancy a step further, attending a prenatal yoga class, where she befriends Megan (Brianne Howey). Megan, lonely and desperate to share the difficulties of pregnancy with someone, invites Lainy into her life and introduces her to her brother (Will Forte), who Lainy falls for and begins a romantic relationship with. All the while, Lainy maintains her pregnancy lies, growing more and more disturbed as her inevitable due date approaches.

There’s been a distinct lack of broad studio comedies over the past few years. Now and again a streaming service allows Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, or Kevin Hart to release a wacky script with a few laughs. However, there is an undeniable, restrictive, paint-by-numbers element to the modern-day streaming service comedy, and although Schumer takes some big swings, she too falls victim to the undercooked and over-budgeted nature of a Netflix original. The set-up should be perfect, Schumer has tackled the subject of pregnancy before in her stand-up special, Growing and docuseries, Expecting Amy. Pregnancy is a subject she has previously demonstrated sincere thought and comical observations about, yet those things fall by the wayside in Kinda Pregnant.

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There are some laughs within the film, with every one out of ten jokes landing well. Scuhumer’s off-the-cuff remarks and self-deprecating humour create some genuine relatability and laughable absurdity. Jillian Bell is great as the voice of reason, Will Forte is cute as a button as the endearing love interest and Urzila Carlson is hilarious as Lainy’s inappropriate and dirty-humoured coworker. However, the film is packed full with kinda disturbing pregnancy-related injuries—twice Lainy throws herself belly-first onto the hard ground, following which, her fake baby is also stabbed and set alight. On the other hand, Schumer also peppers the film with unfunny farts and burps slapstick humour, which feels equally uneven. These choices feel insane and take away from the nuggets of sincerity at the heart of the film. It’s disappointing because it really is a lonely feeling to watch your best friends move on with their lives without you, and pregnancy is an isolating and harrowing experience that women don’t get to talk about enough. Women are expected to be happy for their friends, smooth over feelings of jealousy, and keep the gross and traumatic elements of birth to themselves. This film has so many opportunities to make us laugh about the insanity of these things, and it often comes close. However, it chooses zany gags and favours cheap laughs ahead of anything else.

The film also feels uncomfortable during the frequent moments when Schumer is just plain mean-spirited. It’s been a running gag throughout Schumer’s filmography to take personal shots at herself about her weight and appearance. It’s often cute and relatable—who doesn’t criticise themselves from all angles? Here, it feels sad. As if she’s running to beat you to a joke she assumes you’re going to tell about her anyway. In I Feel Pretty, and Trainwreck, Schumer’s characters went on self-esteem discoveries, developing healthier ways of viewing themselves in the process of making mistakes within their friendships and relationships. However, the mistake Lainy makes is too all-consuming. It’s played off for laughs, but there is no escaping just how deeply disturbing her choices are throughout the movie. It stunts the character’s growth and poisons the movie, making it extremely unlikeable.

Amy Schumer is funny and Kinda Pregnant is watchable enough, but it feels like Schumer is pushing the limits of her comedy. Her usual wheelhouse of gags feels overused and tired now—she’s long overdue to find a new shtick.