Synopsis: When Lainy’s plan to settle down and start a family falls apart, she puts on a fake baby bump, tells a lie, and accidentally falls for her dream guy.
Director: Tyler Spindel
Stars: Amy Schumer, Will Forte, Jillian Bell
Amy Schumer brings her signature humour to Kinda Pregnant, a film she co-wrote with Julie Paiva. Schumer is fun to watch and has great comedic timing, and clearly, there are no issues with doing physical comedy.
Schumer plays Lainy Newton. Her childhood best friend Kate (Jillian Bell) and her are very close. Kate and her husband announce they are expecting a baby. Around the same time, a fellow teacher also announces she is pregnant.
Lainy is just coming out of a long-term relationship and feels quite left out of the estrogen-fuelled excitement. She begins to spiral, lashing out at the kids in ways that are both humorous and awkward—very Schumer-like.
One thing leads to another, and the next thing Lainy is pretending she is also pregnant, but she hides her charade from Kate, who would know better.
She attends prenatal classes and is befriended by one of the moms there, Megan (Brianne Howey). She and Megan become fast friends since they have so much in common—both being ‘pregnant’ and all.
Lainy is loving the attention she is getting. Men are giving up their seats for her on her commute, and she’s receiving favourable treatment from others. She even meets a new guy with whom she seems to be developing a cute relationship. (Will Forte)
Of course, we all know where this is heading; we’ve seen it many times before. Kinda Pregnant follows a formula clearly laid out in many similar films: the first act introduces us to the characters, and the second establishes the con and the inevitable third hits.
To her credit, Schumer is great with physical comedy. Some of the jokes in this film work, but some just don’t, and sometimes they border on too much.
I really enjoyed Preggoland (2014), directed by Jacob Tierney and starring Sonja Bennett. It shares the same premise as Kinda Pregnant but is more entertaining and overly predictable.
Kinda Pregnant is like being at a beginner dance class: one, two, step and one, two, step. The structure takes away any ability to enjoy it. Schumer has been in some very entertaining films; Kinda Pregnant just isn’t one of them.
Kinda Pregnant was released on Netflix and is co-produced by Adam Sandler. It’s one that can easily skip.
Grade: C-
Watch the movie trailer:
