I’ve spent the past week slaving over an absolute tower of assignments, which is why, for this issue, I turned to a deep cut movie that I have actually already seen multiple times. Said film is, shockingly, not a Netflix original, and in all honesty might not be that deep of a cut for all you indie film lovers out there. It is, however, a wonderful movie starring one of the funniest, most slept-on comedians of our time, Jenny Slate. For this week’s Deep Cut, a great, weird, insightful movie: “Obvious Child.”

This movie is a bit of a hodgepodge, alternatingly very light and very intense. It stars Slate as Donna, a stand-up comedian and bookstore employee in her late 20s. Donna is beautiful and silly and irreverent, and the movie opens on her doing a set (that makes fun of sex with her boyfriend) in a grungy bar. Said boyfriend, right after the opening performance, dumps Donna in the bathroom. Donna is an absolutely heartbroken mess for weeks after the breakup, stalking her ex before tearfully bombing at the bar one night. She walks offstage, gets drunk and meets the handsome and charmingly awkward Max (Jake Lacy). They go home together and drunkenly dance around before having a one-night stand. Soon after, in a thrift store dressing room, Donna finds out that she’s pregnant. Crises, decisions and hilarity ensue.

The coolest thing about “Obvious Child” is its grounded authenticity. This is the story of a crisis—one that is life-changing, but not life-ending. Donna is very secure in her decision to have an abortion from the beginning, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get to see her be sad or frustrated or angry.

Donna is a great character and is treated with care, expressing both a deep frustration with herself/her situation and a strong love for life. Excellently written by screenwriter/director Gillian Robespierre, the film is is smart and sparklingly funny while remaining down-to-earth. “Obvious Child” is humorous without being overtly comedic. The movie, while very funny, features strikingly authentic scenes of pain and crisis, not the least of which being a scene wherein Donna schedules an abortion appointment.

Slate’s performance is amazingly well done, though I must say that I am biased because Slate is one of my favorite comedians. Regardless of my opinions about her comedy, though, Slate does a wonderful job bringing raw emotion to the more dramatic scenes of the film. I don’t have that much negative stuff to say about this movie, except that I wish that the side characters had been more well-rounded. I really enjoyed the character of Max along with Donna’s best friends; I wish that I would’ve been able to see more of their characters and relationships. However, that being said, this is a largely personal movie, so I completely understand the creative choice to sideline these characters. Kudos to Robespierre on her first film—it’s a pretty wonderful creative achievement.

This is the first of the films I’ve done for a Deep Cuts column that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone. I had a great time watching a heart-wrenching situation being treated with a large dose of care and humor.