‘Kinda Pregnant’ Explores the Pressures of Motherhood and Self-Worth

The latest comedy by Netflix, Kinda Pregnant, starring Amy Schumer, hilariously examines societal norms regarding pregnancy, self-worth, and identity. Schumer stars as Lainy, a woman who goes on an unusual excursion of faking a pregnancy. While Kinda Pregnant is entertaining, it surprisingly probes deeper into Lainy’s motivations for living such a deception-filled life.

Lainy’s Obsession with Motherhood

Her childhood idolization of motherhood convinces Lainy to undergo a deep obsession with motherhood. The film begins with a childhood sequence where she and her best friend Kate pretend to give birth at a playground. She has always believed that children are the most fulfilling thing a person can have. Now in her thirties, and while her best friend is happily married and expecting a baby, Lainy is still single and goes through an emotional crisis which is the plot of the story.

A Social Experiment Gone Too Far

While shopping for maternity clothes with her friend Kate, Lainy tries a fake pregnancy belly for the first time. As a casual dress-up joke, it turns very real as she notices the change of attitude people have toward her while she is pregnant.

All of a sudden, store clerks are all very attentive to her, strangers on the street now smile, and she has this new sense of self-importance. She’s soon addicted to the attention and goes to the store, stealing the pregnancy belly and associating it with her normal daily life.

She starts prenatal yoga classes, makes friends with other mothers-to-be, and even goes full-blown romantic while posing as a pregnant woman, so with time, her charade gets more elaborate.

How Lainy’s Secret Falls Apart

Like most deceptions, Lainy was bound to be found out. She hoped to have a reveal when she was ready, but a dramatic encounter at a baby shower surely did not help her case. Kate’s coworker Shirley put Lainy on blast with no warning, claiming she was faking a pregnancy for sympathy and had the intention of staging a shocking abortion. Lainy had no option placed in front of her, so she made the move to come clean about everything.

No matter how shocking the reveal was, Lainy did become whole in the end. In the end, Kinda Pregnant really nailed the heartwarming ending. It shocked those closest to Lainy, but once again reminded everyone about the emotional turmoil behind her actions, explaining how they got so far out of hand and how she now has redemption in her grasp. Instead of simply being a classic romcom, Lainy and Josh had their fairytale ending post their fallout.

A Blend of an Issue with Humor

Kinda Pregnant focuses primarily on comedy, however, it does deal with several important topics as well.

The movie depicts in great depth how society forces women into motherhood to the extent that they lose their own identity. Lainy’s story, in particular, demonstrates the damaging expectations that can produce profound insecurity and, as such, makes the film not only an enjoyable one but a more complex one.

Audiences are raving about Schumer’s unconventional perspective on pregnancy and self-worth in Kinda Pregnant, streaming now on Netflix. Trust me, if you decide to tune in for the giggles or the profound meaning underneath it all, you will definitely be impacted in one way or another.