PremiumOh My Darling review: Anikha Surendran, Melvin-starrer probably has the most absurd take on unintended pregnancy
The length of Oh My Darling also doesn’t do any favours as there are long, flat stretches where either Jenny and Joel are engrossed in silly conversations or Joel is out having even more meaningless talk with his uncle and friends.
Last Updated: 05.50 PM, Feb 24, 2023
Story: After discovering that he’s got his girlfriend Jenny pregnant, the usual carefree Joel is suddenly faced with several decisions to make before the world too knows of the pregnancy. With Jenny steadfast on her decision not to abort the child, Joel now has to get his life in order. Will he be able to do it and what are the other choices that he has to make on this unexpected journey?
Review: Films on unintended pregnancy such as Katherine Heigl’s comedy Knocked Up and Anna Ben’s drama Sara’s highlight the various decisions that its protagonists had to take while coming to terms with their situation. This is often the key hook for these movies as it takes the audience too through their journey, however unpleasant the circumstances are or unpopular their decisions are. It would be unfair to compare these films with debutant director Alfred D Samuel’s Oh My Darling, which presents, arguably, the most absurd take on pregnancy yet.
While the promotional material of the movie, starring Anikha Surendran, Melvin G Babu, Mukesh, Lena, Johny Antony and Manju Pillai, was mostly designed as a feel-good romcom, this wears off within the first 20 minutes. The film, which is scripted by Jineesh, then waddles in flat territory – while explaining how the protagonists Jenny, who is obsessed with K-Drama, and Joel, an indolent youth, face a predicament the latter wants to get out of.
Though there’s an attempt, late in the film, to explain how ridiculous Jenny’s thought process is while she decides to keep the baby against the advice of Joel, who all of a sudden seem to be wiser of the two. The makers don’t try to extract comedy from the situation and instead run a subplot with Joel’s family to keep things light. In that process, they somehow manage to totally ignore what Jenny is feeling. This could be assumed as a deliberate move, because the final explanation about false pregnancy that Jenny’s parents give Joel does cover for why nobody in her household seems to notice – her erratic behaviour or even the ladder that hangs from their daughter’s room in broad daylight – and also Jenny’s questionable decision at her age. But there’s no real explanation for why Joel goes along with it. Also, though the explanation does touch upon a medical issue, how it's placed and broken down to Joel, coupled with his reactions, make it feel absurd.
The length of the movie also doesn’t do it any favours as there are long, flat stretches where either Jenny and Joel are engrossed in silly conversation in the middle of their quandary or Joel is out having even meaningless talk with his uncle and friends. This also drains out any energy that the movie had in the initial half.
Anikha essays her role as a bubbly college student with relative ease, but Melvin doesn’t quite have the presence to differentiate between the two phases in Joel’s life. Johny Antony and Manju Pillai have a few comedic moments in this otherwise forgettable film, with a series of twists that are perplexing and ludicrous after a point.
Verdict: If you were attracted by the K-drama vibes that Oh My Darling’s trailer and teasers gave off, this movie will be a major letdown.