Kris Swanberg gives a somewhat too conventional glimpse into unplanned pregnancy in Unexpected, co-written with Megan Mercier and Kris Williams. This marks Swanberg’s third feature film, and notably her first film with known actors and a budget that’s actually workable. While Swanberg said she wanted Unexpected to be a more realistic film, stripped of the usual comedy around unplanned pregnancy and the heightened melodrama of the environment of low income schools, the lack of both elements makes for a charming film of realism indeed, but one that’s too dramatically scarce. 

Starring an actually pregnant Cobie Smulders as Samantha, Unexpected is a film about two women of different ages, forming a bond over their simultaneous unplanned pregnancies. Samantha, a science teacher at a low income high school, learns that one of her best students, Jasmine (Gail Bean), is pregnant, and befriends her. Both women are confused, yet decide to keep their babies. They go to yoga together, and Samantha pressures the ever loving hell out of Jasmine to apply to college, despite her unexpected bun in the oven.

All the while, a few underlying themes of class separation trickle through the plot. For one, the school at which Samantha teaches and Jasmine attends is about to close, and as faculty members search for new gigs, Samantha grapples with the idea of being a stay-at-home mom or applying for her dream job at The Field Museum. Jasmine lives with her grandmother, along with numerous other siblings/family members, and doesn’t see how higher education is a viable option in her financial situation.

Then comes the bothersome expectations of Samantha’s mother, who’s severely disappointed to learn that Samantha and her boyfriend John (Anders Holm) made a beeline for the nearest courthouse to tie the knot upon learning of their pregnancy. Dismayed at their out-of-order arrangements completely lacking all the essential mom-loving traditions like church weddings, gowns and large cakes, mother and daughter have a falling out that’s never quite resolved. This is juxtaposed with Jasmine’s situation as a poverty-stricken young girl living off of welfare, after being abandoned by her alcoholic mother. Her baby’s father is pretty clueless about all things adult, and it’s no surprise that before long, he’s out of the picture.

However heartfelt the intention to parallel these opposing narratives, it seems only to hold a fluorescent light up to Samantha’s fake problems, while making you feel more sorry for Jasmine. There’s really no relatable life stuff between the two besides their pregnancies, and their struggles are so different and so intangible from each other’s perspectives, that it seems utterly unbelievable that Jasmine can even tolerate Samantha’s BS. The entire film, as Samantha pouts over not being able to work, or complains about not knowing what to do, I couldn’t help but think: Lady, come on. You’re thirty, your boyfriend just married you, he has a job and clearly you live in a pretty decent apartment in a safe neighborhood. Just stop complaining.

Holm, of The Mindy Project and Workaholics, plays John, a very minimal, flat character who has a patchy ginger beard and not that many lines. Of the lines he does have, they’re all supportive of starting a family with Samantha. When she worries over her soon-to-be-nonexistent job as a teacher, he says, “Don’t worry, I’ll float us.” So, again, why is Samantha so confused about her life path? She mentions several times throughout the film about how in her eyes, being a stay-at-home mom would not be “enough” for her. Well, learn how to paint! Take up the clarinet! It’s not the end of the world.

Despite all this, I did enjoy the film’s somber tone over other comedic pregnancy films. While adding in comedy around unplanned pregnancies can bring in more people to the theater in the long run, Swanberg stays true to her vision and has a knack for realism. Yet, the pacing of Unexpected is too slow to hold the attention span on the sole subject of childbearing, but the cast is really what brings charm and likeability to the story.

Conclusion: Unexpected is like a wind chime you’ve hung in your backyard. Sometimes it’s jingling and jangling nicely in the wind and you feel good about having bought it. Other times, you can’t stop noticing how annoying it sounds and you want to just chuck it over the fence into your neighbor’s backyard.

C

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