Amy Schumer in Sleepy Netflix Comedy

In Kinda Pregnant, an inert Netflix comedy directed by Tyler Spindel from a script penned by Julie Paiva and Amy Schumer, baby fever leads to questionable decision making and a bizarre, but ultimately predictable, adventure. 

For as long as Lainy Newton (Schumer) can remember, she has wanted to be a mother. In the first scene, we see a young Lainy (Jayne Sowers) using her dolls to stage a birth with her friend Kate (Julianna Layne). Bonded by the quiet grief of losing a mother, the girls assume their roles: Lainy as the pregnant patient spewing expletives, and Kate as the supportive pal (or maybe she’s the doctor) yelling, “Push!” Even though Kate hates playing this game every day and doesn’t even know if she wants to be a mother, she indulges Lainy, who thinks having a child is one of the most important things a person can do. 

A few decades later, Lainy and Kate are living in New York and still close. Lainy is a public school English teacher in Brooklyn and while it’s not entirely clear what Kate does, the two wake up to each other’s FaceTime calls, a sign of their enduring intimacy. But when Kate tells Lainy that she’s pregnant, the news threatens to destabilize their relationship. Having recently broken up with her long-term boyfriend (Damon Wayans Jr.), Lainy now resents that her best friend gets to live the life she dreamed for herself. 

In the vein of Adult Best Friends and Babes, Kinda Pregnant observes what happens when friends start growing in different directions. Unable to admit the depth of her jealousy (here, the narrative veers into Baby Mama territory), Lainy distances herself from Kate to indulge in her own fantasy. The middle school educator starts wearing a fake baby bump and attends a prenatal class where she befriends Megan (Brianne Howey), a fellow (and real) mother-to-be. The lie takes outrageous turns and Lainy soon finds herself romantically enmeshed with Megan’s brother Josh (Will Forte), in a development meant to heighten the emotional stakes.

Unlike Delaney Buffett’s endearing debut or Ilana Glazer’s maternal romp, however, Kinda Pregnant doesn’t deliver on charming main characters nor sustainable humor. It’s a staid affair, coasting on its zany premise and a handful of amusing moments. The central friendship is so underdeveloped it inspires questions about why the two characters are still in touch, and Schumer doesn’t quite balance the emotional and comedic requirements of her character in a meaningful way. The result is a film composed of awkward gags and stilted poignancy. 

There are a few clever bits in Kinda Pregnant, which considers the way the world treats pregnant people. Although Lainy says she wants to be a mother because of her own loss, there’s a part of her that enjoys the attention conferred upon a gestating body. Teenagers comment on her glowing skin, straphangers rush to give up their seats and passersby offer warm smiles. This external treatment underscores the dissonance that actual pregnant people — whom Lainy meets while attending prenatal classes with Megan — feel. Megan, who is expecting her second child, often shares with Lainy how lonely the experience can be. Her confessions highlight how abandoned Kate, who oddly gets relegated to a side character, must also feel without her dearest friend around. 

While Kate plans for her child, Lainy finds acceptance within Megan’s orbit. She starts flirting with and then casually dating Megan’s brother Josh, an understated Zamboni driver reeling from his own breakup. The two share a similar sense of humor and Lainy sees a real possibility of a future with him. Of course, there’s the awkward reality of her fake pregnancy. The premise allows Schumer to experiment with physical comedy, but it extends for too long and becomes increasingly uncomfortable, especially as Megan and Josh both come to trust Lainy. There’s a version of this story that finds complexity and surprising heart in the concept, but Kinda Pregnant prefers to stay on the surface. 

That shallowness puts more pressure on the comedy, which is challenging because Kinda Pregnant is not exceptionally funny either. Most of the laughs come from supporting characters (Lizze Broadway and Urzila Carlson are particularly strong), and for all its good intentions, the movie is so formulaic that it verges on dull. We know that Lainy will eventually be found out, but the narrative struggles to keep us curious, and Spindel’s unobtrusive direction can’t recoup the lost momentum. The result is a film that not only seems unsure of its purpose, but loses steam before it ever really gets going.