9 Month Stretch (2013)
9 Mois ferme
Film details
Comedy · Albert Dupontel · 1h 25min
Synopsis
Ariane Felder is pregnant! This is surprising with her being a young hardened judge with strict morals. But what is more surprising is that, according to paternity testing, the child's father is none other than Bob, a criminal from the prosecution charged with an atrocious attack! Ariane doesn't remember any of what has happened, so she has no idea what to expect...
Verdict
Adult comedy about unexpected motherhood; without depth but without ideological alerts.
In-depth analysis
9 Month Stretch is a French screwball comedy that relies on humor derived from absurd situations rather than narrative depth. A morally upright judge discovers she is pregnant by a fugitive criminal after a night she cannot recall, and the plot is built upon the contrast between her ordered world and the irruption of chaos. The film plays with class prejudices and maternal responsibility, but does so with lightness and without philosophical pretensions. The script does not seek to deconstruct the family nor promote moral relativism; it simply narrates how a rigid woman learns to become more flexible in the face of the unexpected. The comedy is adult in its premise (the unexplained pregnancy has obvious implications) but discreet in its execution: there are no explicit scenes nor crude content. The language is moderate, and violence is practically absent. For parents, it is a film of light entertainment that requires maturity to understand the context (the amnesia regarding the sexual act suggests alcohol or drugs), but without an ideological agenda or visually problematic content. Appropriate for adults and older teenagers with accompaniment.