In its refusal to judge Donna even as she struggles to earn our respect, OBVIOUS CHILD may just be the most radical film of 2014. Of course, it’s also a raunchy sex farce which never feels like it’s preaching to you. What more could you want?

| May 19, 2022

Obvious Child is as successful a comedy as it is an argument for its cause.

| Mar 4, 2021

Slate does the heavy lifting, appearing in every scene and carrying the emotional weight of the story, while still providing the lion's share of laughs.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 1, 2021

A film that is confidently vulnerable and genuinely honest while acknowledging the masks that we so easily wear in our daily lives.

| Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 18, 2020

Slate's Donna feels grounded in something incredibly relatable and real, as does the movie's handling of its hot button plot points. Slate and Lacy have so much effortless charm and chemistry that they're hard to resist.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 10, 2020

[A] lot of potential that obviously isn't realized.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Dec 14, 2019

Obvious Child wears its heart on its sleeve and in doing so, has put itself as one of the most natural romantic comedies in recent years.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Nov 20, 2019

Obvious Child is one of the most empathy-inducing, genuine films featuring a cast of women tackling a women's issue ever made. Period.

| Original Score: B+ | Aug 6, 2019

Obvious Child is sweetness swaddled in a dirty joke.

| Jun 25, 2019

Robespierre has fashioned an assertion of female worth within the confines of mainstream cinema. This is primarily accomplished through the film's sharp, acerbic dialogue and some beautifully rendered characters.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 3, 2019

Where Obvious Child succeeds is in letting women be funny, not in the faux-humor of humiliation that too many comedic actresses in movies are subjected to these days, but in actual laugh-out-loud funny lines and situations.

| Mar 13, 2019

Obvious Child is a quiet movie, in a way; no one needs saving, and everyone's going to be ok. But it feels like a big film all the same.

| Aug 28, 2018

As Donna, [Jenny Slate] is vulnerable but not pathetic, and her actions and reactions are entirely believable.

| Aug 22, 2018

Beyond the identity politics and humor, Obvious Child goes the extra mile to represent a seldom voiced, moderate position about a hot button topic.

| Jan 4, 2018

It doesn't overtly try to be anything more than what it is, which makes it that much more cool to watch.

| Original Score: B+ | Sep 2, 2017

It's a big step forward that [Gillian] Robespierre's indie comedy never treats whether Donna should have an abortion as a debate; Instead, the film addresses what happens once that decision is made.

| Aug 14, 2017

This film is quirky and witty but far surpasses its pregnancy counterparts like Juno or Knocked Up with a crew of folks determined to depict abortion simply as a part of life and nothing to be ashamed of.

| Aug 11, 2017

Like her movie, Slate grows on you.

| Jun 30, 2017

What a funny film it is.

| Feb 28, 2017

A sensitive, bawdy delight.

| Jul 27, 2016