Obvious Child is a 2014 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Gillian Robespierre (in her directorial debut) and stars Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann and David Cross.

David Edelstein, Mick LaSalle and Dana Stevens praised the film's portrayal of abortion, while A. O. Scott and Ty Burr highlighted its realism and humor.

Obvious Child originated as a short film of the same name about an unemployed woman who decides to terminate her pregnancy resulting from a one-night stand, which was written by Gillian Robespierre, Anna Bean and Karen Maine.

[2] Robespierre said that the story was spawned from her frustration with what she perceived as a "misrepresentation of women on screen when it came to unplanned pregnancy", in films such as Juno (2007), Knocked Up (2007) and Waitress (2007).

[2] Robespierre, Bean and Maine, feeling "disenchanted with the representation of young women's experience with becoming pregnant",[3] wanted to make a film that destigmatized an abortion by featuring a woman who terminates a pregnancy without regretting her decision.

[15] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Emily Blake speculated that the film's lack of recognition in mainstream award circles may have been due to its label as "the abortion comedy".

[16] NBC drew criticism for requesting that the word "abortion" be removed from an online advertisement for the film; it apologized after a petition circulated by Planned Parenthood accused the network of censorship.

The critical consensus from the website states, "Tackling a sensitive subject with maturity, honesty, and wit, Obvious Child serves as a deeply promising debut for writer-director Gillian Robespierre.

[26] The New York Times' chief critic A. O. Scott praised the film for striking a balance between humor and sentimentality, writing, "It's both funny and serious without trying too hard to be either, and by trying above all to be honest.

"[27] Peter Debruge described Jenny Slate as "wildly funny" in Variety,[28] while Marc Mohan called her performance "endearing and real" in The Oregonian.

[31] 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.

[33] The San Francisco Chronicle's 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.

[34] 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.

[36] USA Today's Scott Bowles also found Obvious Child unfunny, describing the characters as "so morbid and whiny that the jokes don't work, even as irony".

[39] 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.