Unpregnant

Aggressive ballet. The ethics of using the word hobo. Life saving renditions of the Star Spangled Banner. Grunted and perfectly timed klingon. The world's oldest limo. A storyline that would give David Quinn a pretty severe dose of heartburn. All this and more awaits you with Unpregnant. A film that will strike a chord with many Irish people.

Veronica (Haley Lu Richardson) is 17, pregnant and terrified. Kevin (Alex MacNicoll) is the father and he's a selfish eejit who has life for the pair all mapped out before the starters even arrive in the restaurant where he hears the news. She's having none of it, she's an honours student and a baby would ruin her plans for college. But there's a snag, she lives in Missouri and abortion under the age of 18 isn't happening. The only other person who knows is Bailey (Barbie Ferreira), a classmate who walked in on Veronica and her pregnancy test. The pair have history, they used to be best friends but drifted apart because Bailey wanted to march to the beat of her own drum. Now Veronica needs her old friend. She's the only one with a car who can get her the 1000 miles to Albuquerque, New Mexico, a place where a 17 year old can get a safe, legal termination.

Free, safe and legal. What should be the standard worldwide all so often isn't making a hard choice even harder for women in need of abortions. Writer/Director Rachel Lee Goldenberg takes a story so often portrayed on TV and film as selfish and cautionary and turns it into something humane, uplifting and empowering. It's the tale of a young woman who makes a decision and who wants to stick by it and the other young woman who decides to support her through thick and thin. The destination is set but the journey is what we get to witness and what a surprisingly enjoyable one it is. There's some full on belly laughs and we get the joy of seeing old friendships rekindled along with the shorthand that exists between old friends. The central relationship is one that feels real, it gives Unpregnant heart and as such you'll actually care about whats happening.

The tone throughout is light but it's central subject is still given the weight it requires and the film and characters acknowledge that it's still something that's problematic for a lot of people. Despite the laughs there's nothing flippant here and the film nods at many of America's contradictions regarding personal choice and sex. Billboards litter the Southwest landscape condemning abortion and same sex marriage while others advertise stripclubs with barely legal dancers. Bob (Giancarlo Esposito), a driver they encounter along the way is a veteran, clearly disturbed by his past and obviously forgotten by the country he fought for, driving past protesters arguing for the protection of a bunch of cells that aren't even sentient yet. The living don't matter as much as the unborn. Something that will never make sense.

Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira are a great duo. As with so many of the best road trip movies they start out like chalk and cheese and wax and wan with each other throughout, giving us plenty of funny and affecting moments. It's only their unfortunate and creepy run in with an anti choice couple that makes the film stutter. It feels unnecessary and silly, especially when we head into action movie territory but thankfully it's only a brief detour on the journey and to be fair does lead into a train encounter that creates one of the film's biggest giggles. One of many memorable moments in a fine film that deserves to be spoken about alongside Lady Bird and Booksmart.

Unpregnant is story that has the courage of it's convictions. It's really worth your time and it's streaming online now.