EW – Road-trip comedies are well-traveled territory in Hollywood, and at first glance, UNpregnant may seem as if it’s following a familiar map. Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira star in the upcoming HBO Max film as two Missouri teenagers driving to New Mexico, and as the pair journey together across the Southwest, they pass plenty of the genre’s recognizable mile markers, including unexpected detours, Slurpee-fueled radio singalongs, and chaotic chase scenes.
[…] A teenage abortion road trip movie doesn’t immediately seem like it would be packed with punchlines, but UNpregnant is the rare adolescent comedy that’s both spiky and sweet. Directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg and based on Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan’s YA novel, the film nimbly weaves between heavy drama and manic shenanigans. (It’s certainly the only film this year that includes a candid breakdown of an abortion procedure and a slapstick scene involving a taser.) Before UNpregnant premieres later this fall, EW spoke with Richardson, Ferreira, and Goldenberg about how to make an abortion comedy — and how they hope audiences will both laugh and learn something.
