Unpregnant is an instant classic in the abortion road trip comedy genre. Ok, that genre shouldn’t exist right? But Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Barbie Ferreira, and Haley Lu Richardson will this thing into existence, finding a new angle into both a teenage coming of age story and the road trip movie. And most importantly, they make that classic “Southern Missouri to Albequerque” road trip sound WAY more appealing than it probably actually is in practice.
We open on a tough day for 17 year old Veronica (Richardson). Her pregnancy test came back positive, and was immediately discovered by her former best friend Bailey (Ferreira). Veronica, Ivy League Bound, realizes she doesn’t want to have this kid. However, with conservative parents, gossipy friends, a doofus of a boyfriend (Alex MacNicoll), and no car, Veronica has to ask Bailey to drive her from Missouri to New Mexico, the only place within 1,000 miles she can legally get an abortion while under age.
I can’t stress enough how impressive Rachel Lee Goldenberg’s screenplay is. With a subject as touchy and emotionally wrenching as abortion, Unpregnant could have devolved into Never Rarely Sometimes Always. Instead, Goldenberg in using the “procedure” to justify a road trip story between a pair of former friends. So the story sidesteps a heavy handed abortion storyline for a hijinks oriented road trip one. As you might expect, there are fun side trips and a few solid cameos with wacky characters. Goldenberg also doesn’t want to dismiss why these girls are road tripping, so she sprinkles in some reminders of the levels of absurdity in more conservative parts of the US young girls have to navigate to make their choice, culminating in a hilarious, incisive car chase featuring one of the funniest cars I could have imagined.
But the success of Unpregnant relies on the chemistry between Barbie Ferreira and Haley Lu Richardson. They need the audience to: believe they were best friends, understand how they could have drifted apart, and root for them to get an abortion. Um, what? But both of them pull it off and them some, whether slamming down a blue & red with a dash of Coke slushie, jamming out to Kelly Clarkson, or speaking Klingon, Ferreira and Richardson shine in their bonding, as well as effortlessly encouraging the other to go on and be their true selves. It’s also quite clear through backstory and acting talent that the free spirit Bailey and uptight Veronica had opposite upbringings and could have some sort of fizzling out of a friendship. The trickiest part obviously is the abortion storyline, and that only works if you cast Veronica perfectly. Fortunately, Goldenberg hit it out of the park with Richardson. Even though Bailey would appear to be the more fun part, it is Haley Lu’s Veronica we are much more captivated by, because Richardson plays her like a weirdo who can play uppity to bring about the future she wants, only betrayed by people she trusts. Richardson effortlessly vacillates between the various disparate parts of her personality that make the audience fall in love with her and her journey, and hope for a happy ending for Veronica, a feat only a great actress could pull off.
Certainly Unpregnant’s unconventional tale is going to rub some people the wrong way. However, Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Haley Lu Richardson, and Barbie Ferreira, if you give them a chance, will sell you on this strange road trip. All aspects of it too; are there really tall gorgeous lesbian stock car drivers all over Middle America? If so, I’ve clearly misjudged the excitement going on in flyover country.