Film Review: 'Unpregnant'

Synopsis:

Veronica Clarke (Haley Lu Richardson) is a 17-year-old from Missouri who has her whole life mapped out. But those plans get derailed when she ends up getting pregnant. Veronica wishes to terminate the pregnancy, but finds that the closest clinic that will give her an abortion without parental consent is in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Not wanting her parents or classmates to find out, Veronica turns to the only person she trusts to keep her secret: Bailey Butler (Barbie Ferreira), the childhood friend she drifted apart from. Despite their estrangement, Bailey agrees to help get Veronica to the clinic in time to have the procedure and get home before anyone realizes she's gone. But when her plan starts going off the rails, will Veronica be able to make it to her appointment in time? And can this trek across state lines bring two former best friends back together?

Story:

As a dramedy with a polarizing topic at its center, Unpregnant does a good job remaining balanced and not coming across as propaganda. Outside of some spots of on-the-nose dialogue, the script keeps its message from overtaking the core plot of Veronica and Bailey going on an unexpected journey that gives them the chance to rekindle their lost friendship. It's interesting to see the smaller ways Unpregnant weaves talking points about abortion into its story. The best example would be the subplot involving Bailey's absentee father. It serves as a perfect example of the pain that can result from people having children when they aren't ready and/or willing to take on the responsibility of parenthood.

As for the road trip portion of the movie, it's a well-told and well-paced tale of unusual situations that allow for a broken friendship to be rebuilt. Watching Veronica and Bailey rediscover the bond they once shared is as fun to watch as the humorous situations they end up in as they travel to New Mexico. It's when the film focuses on the conflict that broke up Veronica and Bailey's friendship that Unpregnant slips up a little. While it comes across that both girls played a role in their friendship coming undone, the script opts to place all the blame on Veronica's shoulders. While Bailey might've been going through a hard time with her parents' divorce, it doesn't give her an excuse for having taken her frustrations out on Veronica. But rather than have both girls admit to their mistakes and reconcile, only Veronica is made to do this while Bailey's toxic past behavior is swept under the rug. This misstep acts as a small blemish on Unpregnant's otherwise heartwarming conclusion.

Characters:

The two leads are a well-written pair of flawed but good-natured teenage girls. Veronica is a high-strung control freak while Bailey uses snark, sarcasm, and wild antics as a cover for how sad and lonely she feels. Their polar opposite personalities initially put them at odds with each other. But at the end of the day, Veronica and Bailey are both relatively good kids who look out for each other when it counts. While it would've been nice to see Bailey directly acknowledge her faults the way Veronica does, seeing the full extent of her home situation is still bound to have your heart breaking for her. Ultimately, you'll be rooting to see both Bailey and Veronica overcome their struggles, renew their friendship, and grow as people over the course of the movie.

The same can't be said for the teens in Veronica's social circle, who you'll just want Veronica to cut ties with once you get to know them. While he initially might seem like an overzealous but loving boyfriend, Kevin quickly shows he's not ready to be a good father or a good romantic partner. Despite Kevin's claims of loving Veronica and wanting to have a life with her, it doesn't take long to see that he doesn't really respect or love her. He dismisses Veronica being rightfully upset about him not telling her about the condom breaking during one of their trysts. He accuses her of being ungrateful for how "nice" of a boyfriend he is. He objects to Veronica's abortion decision while revealing that he only wants her to have the baby so she'll be forced to skip college and stay with him. Self-centered, entitled, and egotistical, Kevin will have you cringing whenever he tries to exert control over Veronica and cheering as she shoots him down each time. You'll have a similar reaction to meeting Bailey's father Jerry, a man too self-centered and thoughtless to even give the daughter he abandoned five minutes of his time.

Veronica's female associates are more morally mixed. Her newer friends (Emily, Kaylee, and Hannah) are surprisingly not as nasty as you'd expect them to be. They're certainly shallow and judgmental, but they never act deliberately cruel or vicious--just callous enough to see other people's problems as juicy drama to gossip about. SPOILER ALERT You'd also expect Veronica's mother to react badly to the news of her daughter's abortion, seeing as how she's established as a very religious woman. But instead, Debra shows that while she doesn't agree with or understand Veronica's choice, she loves her daughter above all else and won't let her beliefs come between them. It's a stark contrast from the self-righteous attitudes of Kate and Mark, the crazed anti-choice couple whose insane run-in with Veronica and Bailey is equal parts comical and lowkey terrifying. Spoilers Over In notably fun side characters, we have anti-government ally Bob and race car driver Kira Matthews, the latter of whom proves beneficial in helping Bailey open up about herself to Veronica.

Acting:

Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferriera have excellent chemistry together, both comedically and dramatically, and are just as solid as individuals. Richardson will have you cheering on the imperfect but pure-hearted Veronica while Ferriera makes up for Bailey's uneven character growth by playing up her more sympathetic qualities. They make you believe that, despite the bad blood between them, Veronica and Bailey still care about each other and wish to be friends again. Alex MacNicoll does just as good a job making Kevin truly hissable, alternating between playing him as a cringey doofus and a possessive creep. The actresses portraying Veronica's friend group (Ramona Young, Kara Royster, and Meg Smith) do a stellar job keeping their cattiness at a realistic level while Mary McCormack gives a sweet performance once we finally get to see Veronica's mom for more than a few fleeting moments.

Giancarlo Esposito and Betty Who make similarly lovable appearances as Bob and Kira while Marcos De Silvas makes your blood boil as Bailey's selfish excuse of a father. SPOILER ALERT Lastly, there's Breckin Meyer and Sugar Lyn Beard as psychotic pro-life couple Mark and Kate. While their characters have a dark side to them, considering the implications of their deranged agenda, Meyer and Beard will have you laughing as the husband-wife duo go from mere oddballs to a pair of sanctimonious loons. Spoilers Over

Overall:

While the controversial subject matter will inevitably turn some viewers away on principle, Unpregnant has more to offer than just its outlook on the stigma of abortion. It has an engaging and empowering story about friendship, growing up, and standing up for your right to live your life on your own terms. The actors bring the comedy and drama of the script to life in equal amounts and the narrative knows how to get its message across without letting it take over the whole movie. If you're not someone who would denounce a film for having a pro-choice stance, Unpregnant has a lot of comedy and heart to go along with its valid points as to why reproductive rights should always be protected.

(Click here for information on how to aid in the fight to protect Roe v. Wade and nationwide reproductive freedom.)

Score: 8 out of 10 jars of pickled pears.