The abortion-themed romantic comedy "Obvious Child" would receive “an enthusiastic ‘two horns up’” from Satan, says John Mulderig, film reviewer for Catholic News Service and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“What, after all, could please the Father of Lies more than a piece of baneful propaganda designed to seduce viewers into believing that the termination of a pregnancy — to employ the widespread Orwellian euphemism for this tragic act — is really no big deal?” said Mulderig in his review.
“In fact, according to writer-director Gillian Robespierre's deplorable film, an expansion of her 2009 short of the same title, killing a baby in the womb can serve as the gateway to a bright and fulfilling future.”
Robespierre, notes Mulderig, treats the taking of innocent human life “as something between an unpleasant necessity — on the order of having your wisdom teeth removed — and a rite of passage.” The main character’s sympathetic roommate supports the choice, having undergone the experience “and emerged from it emotionally unscathed and morally unrepentant.”
The film contains a benign view of abortion, a debased approach to human sexuality, nongraphic nonmarital sexual activity, partial nudity, much sexual and scatological humor, a few uses of profanity and frequent rough and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is O (morally offensive). The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R.
To see the full review, visit http://www.catholicnews.com/movies.htm. Resources in support of human life and dignity can be found online at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/index.cfm.
