New voices are always welcome in the movie world. It keeps the medium exciting and progressing, pulling the world along with it. Even though her character might be Scrambled, Leah McKendrick shows a self-assuredness that hopes we are on the precipice of a new great voice showing up and showing out for years to come. I had 3 egg puns pop into my head, but I’ll spare you the trouble and just say Scrambled is eggcellent, go see it. Zing!
McKendrick plays Nellie, a 34 year old jewelry maker/online entrepreneur having a blast living her life. After a drug trip trying to calm down her best friend Sheila (Ego Nwodim) at Sheila’s wedding, Nellie hooks up with a hot bartender working on his “app”, and goes to the doctor to get cleared. Instead, she finds out she’s running out of eggs in her reproductive system, and needs to act fast to save them if she wants to have her baby. Nellie has to figure out how to get $13K, while also figuring out if any of the men she’s been with could be husband material.
For a first feature, McKendrick proves to have a great understanding of how Scrambled is going to work. She modernizes the story by pushing back the “young woman” timeline back 10 years, from 20s to early 30s. But just as importantly, Nellie loves the life she crafted for herself in her 20s. So when we first meet her, she’s not some sad sack Shiela and the other friends worry about, she’s the fun loving one content with her own lifestyle. There’s just a new biological problem to worry about now, forcing the carpe diem Nellie to actually put her future ahead of her present. McKendrick acknowledges simultaneously that this story is pretty low stakes while still showing why this egg freezing would be important to her main character; as a result, the director finds a light and humorous tone, searching for a joke under most circumstances, sometimes finding drama inside the funny, but eventually finding a laugh soon after. Much like Barbie or The Worst Person in the World, Scrambled nails the walking contradiction of an unsure modern woman wonderfully, equally mocking and embracing the mess.
I’m 98.99% sure Leah McKendrick was pulling from her own life here to play Nellie. Fortunately she’s up to the task. McKendrick digs into the complex character she wrote for herself with aplomb. She’s obviously pretty brave putting her body out there to show the awkwardness and incredible comedy of unfulfilled hookups that modern women have gone through more than a few times. But she’s also nailed the beats of the exasperation of single life in your 30s. We feel McKendrick’s frustration at societal forces pushing her towards marriage and children, while she really doesn’t want to take part in either. She enjoys her freedom of choice, which the egg freezing will let her do before she makes up her mind. This procedure throws off all of Nellie’s hormones, giving McKendrick a few big moments to show off her dramatic chops as feelings slowly pour out of her, including an incredible monologue about her buried feelings about her favorite ex, and her family dynamics conflicts, especially her relationship to her dad (Clancy Brown).
My only complaint with Scrambled is the title, which comes off way too sitcommy. A bit strange, since the rest of Leah McKendrick’s first feature was so well executed. Hopefully this is a blip, and everyone in Hollywood sees what a talent McKendrick is, and gives her a 2nd chance at a great title for her 2nd movie. Or, Disney casts her in a live action Brave sequel. One or the other.