There's comedy to be mined from the unfair expectations we place
on women to become mothers. Just as there's even more comedy gold in the
unequal treatment pregnant women receive from just about everybody. Aren't we
all more likely to hold the door a little bit longer for an expectant mother?
Offer up our seat a little more readily? Basically to treat them with an even
greater respect than we normally would? All women deserve respect; pregnant
women are treated like royalty. Preggoland has the golden opportunity to
explore these ideas but the misguided humor is too lazy and the lead
performance too bland to have any real life.
Screenwriter Sonja Bennett stars as Ruth,
one of those Hollywood slacker characters typically played by men but has found
new resonance ever since Kristen Wiig's performance in Bridesmaids. A 35-year-old
grocery store clerk who can't find a boyfriend and is frequently drunk, Ruth's circle
of married and pregnant friends decides she's not worth keeping around. The
problem is that we kind of agree with them. Ruth's selfishness and blatant
disregard for others instantly makes her unlikable, and nothing ever gives us
reason to feel otherwise. When a stroller mishap causes others to think she's
pregnant, Ruth decides she likes the added attention. The respect others give
her as an expectant mother doesn't hurt, either, so she chooses to keep the lie
going, telling people she's pregnant with twins. Not only does it save her from
losing her job at the hands of the new boss (Paul Campbell), but her Dad (James
Caan) is dying to be a grandfather.
That Ruth's big lie helps her while
hurting others only makes us dislike her more. The friends she lost suddenly
come streaming back anxious to be part of her birth experience, while she also
finds love with the new store manager. He's had a history of being lied to by
an ex-wife, but Ruth is callously insensitive to his feelings. Ruth takes a
maniacal pleasure in making her sister, who is desperate to have children but
can't, green with envy. The sitcom mishaps that Ruth stumbles weren't funny to
begin with, but they certainly don't go far in humanizing her enough for us to
care. The friendship she forges with the store custodian Pedro (Danny Trejo) is
not only trivial but insulting. He keeps her secret, she stops him from getting
fired all of the time, but doesn't hesitate to let him commit criminal acts (he
breaks into a home and assaults a female doctor) when she needs it. Somehow,
Ruth's lies actually improve her lot in life. New love, new job, and when all
is said and done the consequences she faces are glossed over in a matter of
moments. Who would have thought faking a pregnancy for months was no big deal?
It's not like there are women everywhere who wouldn't give EVERYTHING for a
child. Yeah, let's make humor out of that.
So little about Preggoland works that it's
kind of astonishing it was directed by the reasonably competent Jacob Tierney,
who last helmed the crime thriller Good Neighbors. He completely loses control
of the tone, struggling to find a balance between drama and dark comedy,
although the latter path probably would have been the best bet. Other than a
heinous, slow-motion scene of Ruth's Jell-O placenta fluid bursting out of her
fake belly there's nothing that pushes the envelope in a way that could have
been achieved. Better talent in front of and behind the camera could have done
more with the premise, but Preggoland is no bundle of joy.
Rating: 1.5 out of 5
