Obvious Child

Donna Stern is having a rough week. First, her cheating boyfriend dumps her, then she learns her bookstore job is doomed. Leaving a series of increasingly wine-soaked (and hilarious) voicemails for her ex is only briefly satisfying, and indulging in “some light stalking” just makes her feel worse, but her friends and family are supportive in their own eccentric ways and she has her stand-up comedy for therapy. Donna’s onstage routine is normally uncensored and bawdy, but one night she tanks with a drunk, self-pitying act. Enter Max, earnest, clean-cut and not at all Donna’s type. After a silly, boozy evening they end up at his apartment, dancing to Paul Simon songs—and you know where that can lead. Immediately ambivalent, Donna engages in a tortured tug-of-war with Max’s and a her own emotions. Jenny Slate is entirely likeable as Donna, funny, vulnerable and charming even when spewing fart jokes and peeing in public. And Jake Lacy’s Max turns out to be more than his button-down shirt. –Laura Henneman