This wholesome absurd comedy Is one of the best-kept secrets of this year which seamlessly blends animation with live-action. Directed by Yngvild Sve Flikke, this is a typical pregnancy dramedy film which follows the journey of a cartoonist Rakel (Kristine Thorp), an ABBA hater, avid lover of booze and sex with no strings attached lifestyle in her 20s. She lives with Ingrid (Tora Dietrichson) her best friend. The bond between them is like Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha (2012), Icíar Bollaín's Hi, Are You Alone? (1995), Legendary Dan Sallitt's Fourteen (2019), Anaïs Volpé's The Braves (2021), Jeanine Meerapfel's The Girlfriend (1988) and Claudia Weill's Girlfriends (1978).
Life starts to fall apart when Rakel is asked by Ingrid about her weight gain and is advised to take a pregnancy test. She is in denial and begins to fret. Later, she decides to visit the clinic for a termination, accompanied by Mos (Nader Khademi), an aikido instructor with whom she had a one-night stand with recently. At the clinic, Rakel is shocked to discover that Mos is not the father and she's actually 6 month pregnant and too late for an abortion. On the other hand, the suitor is known as Dick Jesus (Arthur Berning), a self-possessed and narcistic man who is unwilling to take up the father figure role. What follows is a peculiar mix between comedy and coming of age with all the genre theatrics and a believable ending when the sketchbook is complete.
However, the seriousness of the drama deepens and, together with the Rakel, we encounter the increasingly absurd situations and the funny banters with the talking animated fetus who she christens as Ninjababy.
The real fun starts from the moment Ninjababy (voiced by Herman Tømmeraas) jumps out as an animated doodle with a bandit mask and follows her around, raising questions and demands company (explanation). One of my favourite scene is when Rakel is asked by Dick Jesus not to look down on his private part, She can't resist Ninajababy interrupts and end up having sex together. The entire sequence is funny and I was laughing the whole time.
The animated doodle mocks Rakel and is embarassed that she let Dick Jesus to have sex and the result is the pregnancy. Ninjababy goes on to say that Angelina Jolie would be a good mother. The story arc within the discussion between Ninjababy and Rakel moves at a funny pace. Nearly every dialogue is like provoking a debate between opposite beliefs, and touches upon various sensitive topics and taboos of motherhood. There's a dose of gags in every conversation which I liked a lot.
Final thoughts, I know the some might recall Sam Mendes, Jason Reitman, So Yong Kim, Alex Thompson, Joachim Trier, Noah Baumbach, Judd Apatow, Nicolas Bedos, Lena Dunham, Antonin Peretjatko, Sébastien Betbeder, Miguel Gomes, Azazel Jacobs, Curtis Vowell, Gabor Reisz, Pedro Morelli, and even Aki Kaurismäki. Regardless, this film has a lot more life to offer, sure to impress in the field of characters and styles which will leave you with a lasting smile.
