The Ways That Obvious Child Excels Are....Apparent

Why don't we talk about Obvious Child more? I know the film garnered acclaim in its initial theatrical release in June 2014, but man, I feel like writer/director Gillian Robespierre's work here deserves so much more recognition than it's gotten in the four years since it first came out. With Obvious Child, she's created such an entertaining and wonderfully low-key character study bolstered by a terrific performance from Jenny Slate. To boot, this movie is all about lending humanity to a scenario that's usually reserved as a go-to plot twist in a bad melodrama or as a source of villainy in a dreadful Christian movie starring Kevin Sorbo.

Jenny Slate And Director Gillian Robespierri Reunite To Answer The Call Of Landline

Back in the bygone year of 1995, the Jacobs family is undergoing tons of familiar strife from all of its individual members. There's wife-to-be Dana Jacobs (Jenny Slate) whose impending marriage is giving her plenty of anxiety and leading her to cheat on her husband while her younger sister Ali Jacobs (Abby Quinn) is a rebellious 18-year-old who has turned to drugs and shirking school. These sisters have entirely different personalities, with Dana being more anxious while Jacobs is a foul-mouthed whirlwind of rebellion, but they're both trying to put on an exterior built on a facade to conceal their internal woes and that helps them connect even in the most turbulent of times.