politically neutral but also that the film, "for all its lightness of tone, is radical". In a review for The Guardian, Xan Brooks described the film as "fresh and funny and really rather brave" for handling a controversial topic that other filmmakers routinely avoid. New York critic David Edelstein called Robespierre "brave enough to be ambivalent" in choosing not to include a blatant political message in the film. The San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle similarly concluded that "If the movie has a political statement, it's a subtle one"; he also praised the film for treating the topic sincerely while still maintaining a humorous tone. Conversely, Michelle Golberg suggested in a review for The Nation that the film's popularity with critics was not due to its quality but rather its taboo subject matter: "If the ordinary drama of abortion were more regularly represented in the movies, Obvious Child wouldn't be much more than an amusing hipster diversion." Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail expressed a similar sentiment and opined that many of the film's jokes were crude and lacking in humor. USA Today Scott Bowles also found Obvious Child unfunny, describing the characters as "so morbid and whiny that the jokes don't work, even as irony". Kyle Smith, a critic for the New York Post, found the plot uninteresting and the cinematography "ugly", and criticized Slate's "desperate" performance. The film was criticized by a variety of conservative and anti-abortion groups and publications, including the Family Research Council, The Heritage Foundation, and the Media Research Center, through its NewsBusters blog and Cybercast News Service. In an article for The Human Life Review, Mary Rose Somarriba dismissed the film as "obvious propaganda". Katelyn Beaty, meanwhile, who reviewed Obvious Child for Christianity Today, wrote: "While I ultimately disagree with Robespierre's political aims, at the least she has provided a sometimes funny, often tender portrait of many (though not all) women who face an unplanned pregnancy." Accolades References External links 2014 romantic comedy-drama films 2014 films A24 (company) films American independent films American romantic comedy-drama films Features based on short films Films about abortion Films about entertainers Films set in Brooklyn Films shot in New York City Kickstarter-funded films Sundance Film Festival award winners Valentine's Day in films 2014 directorial debut films 2014 comedy films 2014 drama films 2014 independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films