‘Kinda Pregnant’ movie review: Amy Schumer’s latest comedy-drama is a misfire

A still from ‘Kinda Pregnant’

Writer and activist Shulamith Firestone was vocal in her belief that women could never be free of patriarchy until they were freed from the yoke of reproduction; she dreamt of a day when babies could be created in mechanical uteruses. But on Netflix’s Kinda Pregnant, Lainy Newton (Amy Schumer) will have none of that. From a young age, she dreamt of getting pregnant and rehearsed giving birth with her friend Kate (Jillian Bell).

Lainy is a romantic at heart — she dramatises Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet standing on a table in a classroom full of middle schoolers and tries to convince them that love is worth pursuing. However, her beliefs and worldview are put to the test on a date night with her boyfriend Dave (Damon Wayans Jr.), whom she has been seeing for four years. 

Well, you see, Lainy was hoping for a proposal; in fact, she told almost everyone that she would have a ring on her finger by the end of her date. While on the date when the waiter brings a heart-shaped cake to the table, she jumps in and smushes it in search of a ring only to be left empty-handed. Turns out her boyfriend intended to propose a threesome and not a marriage.

Dejected and heartbroken she gets her students to burn copies of Romeo and Juliet creating a fire hazard in her school and goes on a tirade against love. She is a woman scorned. 

Lainy is another addition to the long list of chaotic and clumsy romantic interests on-screen who struggle to find their place in the world and wrestle with their sense of self. However, she is not crafted to be the next Bridget Jones or Fleabag. Her complaints about the world while real do not evoke a sense of authenticity or relevance among the audience.

But filmmaker Tyler Spindel persists. When everyone around her is getting pregnant including her best friend Kate, Lainy feels left out. On a chance visit to a maternity store, Lainy tries a prosthetic bump that changes her world. She enjoys the attention and kindness people shower her with and plots to wear it in public.

She ventures into ‘Mamaste’, a yoga class for pregnant women, with her fake belly, and begins to build an alternate life for herself — from nipple creams to faux wines and birthing classes, she enjoys the attention and respect she is bestowed with by strangers. While hanging out at the yoga class, she strikes a chord with Megan Taylor (Brianne Howey), an expecting mother who whines about pregnancy and is brutally honest about her journey, something Lainy finds refreshing.

A still from ‘Kinda Pregnant’

Even while juggling two vastly different worlds, she yearns for a romantic connection. Lainy does not let the prosthetic bump get in the way of finding love for the romantic in her and continues to flicker with hope. After a meet-cute with Josh Lewis (Will Forte) who also happens to be Megan’s brother, Lainy gradually begins to nurture a soft spot for the head of the Zamboni crew at the roller rink in Central Park. 

Eventually, as both her worlds inch towards each other, she struggles to keep up appearances (literally) — sometimes it is a part balloon that doubles up as her prosthetic belly while at other times it is a roast chicken. 

Spiendel is brave enough to put a faux pregnant woman through rough slapstick physical comedy. While it is stunning in the first couple of instances the gag eventually tires one out and even the tender and thought-provoking moments that depict the nuances of female friendship are overcast by the brash and loud comedy that takes the entire movie down with it.

Kinda Pregnant does not bring anything new to the table, yet it manages to force a couple of chuckles along the way.

Kinda Pregnant is currently streaming on Netflix