A Review of Kinda
Pregnant by Olszyk
Distribution Service: Netflix
MPAA Rating, R
OSV Rating, Not rated at the time of this review
Reel Rating, One Reel
Hours after
releasing the trailer for Kinda Pregnant, the internet was inundated
with backlash
against the film not seen since the days of Sonic
the Hedgehog. Of course, this also sparked interest. Would it really be
as bad as it seemed? Writer and star Amy Schumer is well known for her crude
and scatological humor, but how would that work combined with the family values
that are typical for stories about pregnancy? Not well. Maybe not as bad as the
worst online trolls imagined, but still really, really poorly.
Lainy (Amy
Schmumer) has wanted a family since she was a little girl and soon might get
her wish. Her boyfriend Dave (Damon Wayans) is taking her to a fancy restaurant
for a “big announcement.” Yet her enthusiasm is shortly lived after Dave
announces he wants a threesome and even introduces some possibilities
candidates, all much more attractive than her. Lainy prompts dumps him but not
without making a profanity laced scene. To make matters worse, her married best
friend Kate (Julian Bell) tells her she is pregnant. Lainy pretends to be happy
for her but seethes with envy. While maternity shopping with Kate, she tries on
a fake baby bump and is hooked. She wears it on the train, goes to pregnancy
yoga, and even starts a new relationship as expectant mother. All of this is
doomed to fail, and that’s where the humor should come from.
Schumer
rose to prominence in the mid-2010s with the sketch show Inside Amy Schumer
which was the Comedy Central spiritual successor to Chappelle Show with
humor that focused on feminism and women’s issues rather than racial comedy but
just as edgy and clever. Like many comedians, she then shifted to stand-up and
movies, Trainwreck
being her best. In 2018, she got married and next year had her first child.
Like Tim Burton and Big Fish, there was a question of whether parenthood
had softened her approach and shifted her style. The answer is no. Her arsenal
of gross out humor about the female anatomy remains as fresh as ever as does
her allegiance to the feminist cause. Throughout the film, the audience is
continually reminded that all these pregnant women freely and deliberately
choose to allow their children to enter the world. They even use the Seinfeld
line about abortion saying, “I’m not getting one, not that there’s anything wrong
with that.” There are a few rare moments of genuine laughs, but they come
when she abandons her regular schtick for situational humor.
There’s a
strong sense that Kinda Pregnant is trying, ever so subtly, to appeal to
family-oriented adults who worry about groceries, change diapers in the middle
of the night, and *gulp* go to church, but it rings hollow. One pregnant
character states, without a hint of irony or sarcasm, that “the most important
relationship you’ll have is with yourself.” That philosophy is completely
antithetical to parenting, even deadly. There’s no sense of self-sacrifice or
embracing the difficulties of life. Many, many times characters are told they
are beautiful or strong despite their pregnancy, as if it was an obstacle. If
this is the case, why become parents in the first place?
Like so
many, many people in Hollywood, Schumer wants to have her cake and eat it too.
She wants to branch out from her image but refuses to abandon her sin or mature
as a person. Some might even see Kinda Pregnant as an example of a
recent conservative cultural wave. If it is, then this is a movement doomed to
failure. Yet lovers of comedy shouldn’t fear. There are plenty of places to get
genuine pro-life humor. Lucille Ball’s thirty second pregnancy observation of getting off the
couch is funnier than this entire film.
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on Februray 23rd, 2025.
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