“Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant”
(New Zealand)
Screened at the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival (2+/5)
Letterboxd (2.5/5), Imdb.com (5/10), TMDB.com (5/10), Imdb.com critics review
#BrentMarchant #MumImAlienPregnant #ChiFilmFest #NewZealander #comedy #scifi #overbearingmother #interspeciesconception #superchargedlibido #funnypremise #babygirl #eligiblesuitor #sexdrive #laundryroom #pregnancy #alien #gestationprocess #shock #schlock #deerintheheadlights #coarselanguage #graphicsexualallusion #intergalacticblessedevent #MeninBlack #scrutiny #abortion #healthcareprocedure #filmshort #tryst
Is a funny premise enough to make a feature film work? Well, that depends on the potential for full development and whether or not that’s apparent in the final cut. Unfortunately, however, that’s what’s missing from this sci-fi comedy from the directing duo of Sean Wallace and Jordan Mark Windsor. The filmmakers’ debut effort tells the tale of 30-year-old Mary (Hannah Lynch), a New Zealander who still lives at home with her well-meaning but overbearing mother, Cynthia (Yvette Parsons). Mom would love nothing more than to see her baby girl find an eligible suitor and settle down, especially since Mary has a supercharged libido that she tries to conceal (but at which she often fails thanks to Cynthia’s intrusive demeanor). Mary’s sex drive gets her in trouble, though, when she has an unplanned encounter in the laundry room of her apartment complex with Boo (Arlo Green), the shy, insecure son of her new neighbor, Ann (Jackie van Beek). Ordinarily, such a tryst might not be a big deal, but, in this case, it raises an unexpected prospect – pregnancy – and with a father who just happens to be part alien. In what is undoubtedly one of cinema’s most hilarious depictions of interspecies conception, Mary suddenly finds herself with child (sort of), and thus begins a gestation process where nothing goes as anticipated. On the surface, this would seem to be a premise pregnant with comedic possibilities, and there indeed are some truly hilarious moments that surface as the story unfolds. However, there’s not enough of them to sustain the narrative, with long lapses between bits that just don’t land. In addition, a number of sequences rely on repetitive incidents of shock, shlock and bewildered deer-in-the-headlights reactions, many of which are needlessly stretched out, especially in the final act. What’s more, the script frequently falls back on coarse language and graphic sexual allusions to get through its underwritten scenes, devices that begin to lose their punch after a while. It’s a shame that this offering couldn’t find ways to be more inventive in telling its story. It’s also surprising that an intergalactic blessed event like this doesn’t attract more scrutiny from authorities involved with super-secret government bodies like intelligence agencies or even the Men in Black. To its credit, “Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant” makes some subtle but effective statements about the rights of pregnant women (such as those associated with abortion and other birth-related health care procedures), but those insights aren’t enough to help elevate the overall content of the finished product. Indeed, when a picture doesn’t have enough material to work with as a full-fledged feature, that may be the time to turn the project into a film short, which may have been a more viable option here in light of the filmmakers’ broader experience with such releases. Making something wild and wacky out of a comparable premise might sound like a good idea at first, but turning one’s baby into something that lives up to its potential may prove to be far more challenging in the long run – not unlike having a kid itself.