New Netflix rom-com Kinda Pregnant blends garish comedy with a predictable plotline to create a mediocre movie that is, if not a cinematic masterpiece, at least something to watch to pass the time.
Lainey Newton (Amy Schumer) is a middle school English teacher whose plans to have a family are upended when her long-time boyfriend, Dave (Damon Wayans Jr) proposes an open relationship instead of the monogamous marriage and children she had always dreamed of.
She watches the other women in her life, including her best friend Kate (Jillian Bell) get married and fall pregnant and her ambivalence about this culminates in her dumping Dave and stealing a fake baby bump which brings all kinds of mischief into her life — including Josh Lewis (Will Forte), her unexpected love interest.
The movie is replete with sarcasm interspersed with fart jokes and laid onto an unsurprising plot.
In one scene, Lainy, shirt stuffed with her fake pregnancy belly, attends a prenatal yoga class in which the attendees are all farting. In subsequent scenes, the plot incorporates the juvenility of slapstick comedy into scenes in which Lainy’s fake belly is set on fire or she falls right on top of it.
The use of slapstick comedy as a plot device in these scenes, albeit annoying, exaggerates the scale of Lainey’s lie and increasingly draws her deeper into the web of her own deceit.
Chemistry between the romantic leads is the lynchpin of a great rom-com and both Schumer and Forte tried their best to stretch the banality of the script into a believable story.
Their chemistry lacks the sizzling intensity for which the genre is a fan favourite but there is a comfort and ease the characters have with each other that is believable for a love story based on leads who are meeting as older adults.
Their relatable connection with each other rescues the mediocrity of the expected ending because audiences, through Forte’s portrayal, buy into the idea that Josh’s belief in what is good in Lainey would give her the courage she needs to come clean about her deceit and to be understood by him without judgment.
The sole strength of the film is the trajectory of Lainey’s journey from a resentful, envious and shallow person to a more self-aware and introspective woman who is able to trust the process of her own life instead of coveting what others have.
Kinda Pregnant is available for streaming on Netflix.
