Parents' Guide to Unpregnant

Movie PG-13 2022 104 minutes
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Common Sense Media Review

Jennifer Green By Jennifer Green , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

BFF road movie tackles abortion; language, sex.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 15+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 13+

Based on 13 kid reviews

What's the Story?

High schooler Veronica (Haley Lu Richardson) finds out she's pregnant in the opening scene of UNPREGNANT. A valedictorian contender with Ivy League dreams, Veronica hadn't planned on being a mother, though her somewhat clueless boyfriend keeps proposing they get married and start a family. Veronica's childhood friend, Bailey (Barbie Ferreira), happens into the bathroom and finds out Veronica's secret. Even though they haven't been friends in years, and the outspoken, nonconformist, overweight Bailey has become a bit of an outcast at school, Veronica has nowhere else to turn. Her gossipy popular friends aren't trustworthy, and her parents are strict anti-abortion Catholics. The problem is that women under 18 can't access abortions in Missouri without parental consent, and the closest place Veronica can access the procedure is Albuquerque. She calls on Bailey to help her, and the two set off on a secret and adventure-filled weekend trip to New Mexico.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 2 ):
Kids say ( 13 ):

An energetic BFF road movie with pro-choice and feminist messages, this movie relies on some high school stereotypes and gender clichés, mostly about boys, but manages to resist predictability. Unpregnant lands a lot of laughs in the banter between Veronica and Bailey and their misadventures on the road, and the two lead actresses do a great job playing opposites with a convincingly shared history and a deep mutual affection. Both actresses credibly transition between comedy and drama throughout the film. Unpregnant is no Thelma and Louise, but a key car-over-a-cliff scene references the classic, as does the American Southwest setting, complete with wide-open spaces, long, straight roads, and dusty small towns populated by cowboys, county fairs, and conspiracy theorists.

This film aims for a much more upbeat tone than that classic, though there are some strong political messages here. The clinical, step-by-step description of an abortion procedure at the film's end aims to demystify the process. A pro-choice monologue laments the fact (and the film's premise) that a 17-year-old girl in present-day America should have to travel across several state lines to get an abortion on request without parental consent. That message, like two intense "pro-life" characters, a Mike and Karen Pence joke, and a coming-out plot twist, could turn some audiences off. It's more likely that the politics, the humor, and the generally youthful mood will all speak directly to this film's target audience.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the issue of abortion and why it's so politicized in this country and in Unpregnant. Do you believe a young woman should have access to an abortion without parental consent? Why or why not?

  • Have you ever fallen out of touch with a close friend the way Veronica and Bailey did? Do you think one of them was more responsible than the other?

  • What genre would you say this film is? Road movie, comedy, drama, buddy film, action film, or something else?

  • This film has some interesting secondary characters that the girls meet on their road trip. Which was most memorable to you, and how do you think that the character contributed to the story?

Movie Details

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