Have you ever felt like the outsider of your friend group? Have you compared your life to your friends and felt like you were behind or off schedule because they have things you desire but don’t have? Have you ever told a lie that spiraled so completely out of control that you had no handle on where it went and it inherently exposed your biggest insecurities? Kinda Pregnant accomplishes all of these things while unfortunately being kinda cringe, kinda inappropriate and offensive, and kinda obnoxious. 

 

I have strong, negative feelings about people faking illness or injury, and I am sure I am not alone in this. However, I tried to be open-minded when I knew the premise of Kinda Pregnant was about Lainy (Amy Schumer) faking a pregnancy. Obviously this is a polarizing topic, and I was hoping it would tackle some stigmas about women, our bodies, infertility, struggles with pregnancy and postpartum, etc. While Kinda Pregnant does touch on some of these subjects, it was too cringey to take seriously in any way, and so many moments just felt glossed over instead of treated with care. 

 

Lainy suspects her boyfriend of four years is going to propose to her on their anniversary night. When the night does not go to plan, Lainy has a complete meltdown and looks to confide in her childhood best friend, Kate (JIllian Bell) about her situation only to then find out that Kate is pregnant. Lainy is caught in a dressing room trying on a fake baby bump and ends up just going with it and continuing to pretend she is pregnant. She realizes people look at her differently and treat her differently when she is visibly pregnant. Lainy decides to go to a prenatal yoga class where she meets Megan, her pregnant new bestie. The two hit it off immediately and Lainy feels validation in finding a friend who she can relate to because of their shared experience, although Lainy is faking it. This is where the slippery slope begins because Lainy is not faking being pregnant all the time and with everyone–just with Megan and in scenarios where she will be with Megan. However, what becomes tricky is that Lainy is still out and about in public and in her same neighborhood where people know her and do not know her to be pregnant. This makes for a lot of second-hand embarrassing and somewhat insensitive moments that attempt to be humorous and just end up falling really short. 

 

The inevitable rom-com plot line of the film becomes apparent when Lainy meets Josh (Will Forte) in a coffee shop. Little do we know, Josh is also Megan’s brother. Because of his association with Megan, Lainy is forced to fake her pregnancy while pursuing a romantic relationship with Josh. 

 

Overall, I would not naturally recommend this comedy, because it’s not particularly funny in any relatable way, I found most of the characters obnoxious and lacking empathy of any kind. It doesn’t handle a potentially triggering subject matter with delicacy or care, especially in a world where pregnancy, or lack thereof, can bring so many emotions. I would like to think this film set out with good intentions, to bring these issues into a non-threatening platform, but it really just left me disappointed and feeling like it was a cheap attempt at comedy at the woman’s expense.