Obvious Child

Obvious Child (2014) is a romantic comedy-drama you can watch online, directed by Gillian Robespierre and built around a fearless lead turn from Jenny Slate. In one rotten New York month, stand-up comic Donna loses just about everything.

Her boyfriend dumps her for a friend, the bookshop where she works is shutting down, and a tipsy one-night stand with a sweet stranger named Max (Jake Lacy) leaves her pregnant. Donna decides to have an abortion, and the film treats that choice plainly, with jokes and warmth instead of melodrama or a lecture. Onstage she turns her own messes into bits. Offstage she calls her mom, dodges Max, and slowly figures out that he might actually be a good guy.

Robespierre expanded the feature from her own short, and it lives or dies on Slate, whose Donna is awkward, motor-mouthed and completely real. Gaby Hoffmann plays the loyal best friend; Richard Kind turns up as her dad. At a tight 85 minutes, it suits anyone who likes indie comedy that talks about grown-up life honestly. Stream Obvious Child (2014) online on iFILM.