In a telling exchange in the new film Obvious Child, the main character, Donna Stern (played by Jenny Slate), about to go onstage for her comedy act, receives encouraging words from her best friend: “You are going to kill it out there!” her friend urges. “I actually have an appointment to do that tomorrow,” Donna responds with a smirk. The appointment is for an abortion. In a Hollywood culture whose obsession with explicit sexuality and graphic violence has lost the power to shock, that line — which shrugs off killing with a glib, nihilistic chuckle — shocks, as does the film’s novel twist on the genre of the romantic comedy.
Watching the film, which culminates in a Valentine’s Day visit to an abortion clinic (described as a “trip to the DMV”), and witnessing the way it has been universally celebrated as a “refreshing,” “honest,” “sophisticated” take on romantic comedy and abortion, one cannot help but sense that the culture has taken something of a turn.
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