THE STORY – When a messy millennial underachiever accidentally gets alien-pregnant, she must overcome skeptical doctors, a useless baby daddy, and her oversharing mum to survive and reclaim her life.
THE CAST – Hannah Lynch, Yvette Parsons, Arlo Green & Jackie van Beek
THE TEAM – THUNDERLIPS (Directors/Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 95 Minutes
The wisest decision the team behind “Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant” made was choosing its title. The very structure of the film’s name is a joke in itself, and it tells the audience exactly what type of movie they’re in for. And even better, it serves as a warning to viewers who will likely not enjoy their time watching it. This is one of the rare cases where a book should essentially be judged by its cover, because if its title does not tickle you, there’s little in the film itself that will work for you. It’s an irreverent, gleefully grotesque sci-fi comedy that pushes against the boundaries of good taste from the very start (literally, the film opens with the main character dipping potato chips into ice cream). Unexpectedly, it works best when serving as a shockingly sincere, if exaggerated, analogy for a very real-world issue, but that’s merely a small portion of this otherwise gross-out, gross-out and intentionally off-putting movie.
The film’s title is attributed to Mary (Hannah Lynch), a relatively young but decidedly grown woman still living with her mother, Cynthia (Yvette Parsons). She takes a break from her self-imposed isolation one night and, while doing laundry in their apartment complex, meets Boo (Arlo Green), a relatively young but decidedly grown man still living with his mother Ann (Jackie van Beek). He also prefers to stay locked in his room, avoiding socialization, but for good reason. He’s apparently the result of an alien impregnation that occurred to his mother during an abduction. He appears relatively normal, except for the fact that his genitals are decidedly extraterrestrial. As soon as Mary draws this information out of him, she insists on his dropping his pants so she can see for herself. One thing leads to another, and, well, Mary finds herself inseminated by Boo, thanks to his very unusual alien reproductive abilities. What follows is an accelerated and dramatic pregnancy, forcing both unlikely parents to come to terms with their adulthood and get their shit together.
The scene that leads to the impregnation is, admittedly, very funny in its absurdity. Like Mary, we learn about Boo’s unusual secret by seeing it for ourselves. The prosthetic makeup and practical special effects required for this reveal are definitely impressive and serve as a preview of the types of sight gags that will follow throughout the film. To their credit, the filmmaking duo Sean Wallace and Jordan Mark Windsor (credited as THUNDERLIPS) lean on hand-made effects and puppets to execute their vision, giving the film a playful B-movie quality. One of the puppets even resembles something from David Lynch’s “Eraserhead,” bringing a disturbing energy to the shock comedy.
But all the fun, tangible effects can’t make up for a screenplay that’s unapologetically lowbrow and unafraid to revel in depravity. It knows exactly what kind of audience it’s aiming for, and it won’t win over any converts from an unwilling crowd. Mary and Cynthia, in particular, are the type of people who have no problem discussing even the most private of bodily functions and issues with anyone they meet. We’ve all encountered people like this, and whether one finds this quality refreshing or unnecessary is up to the individual. Those who are likely to feel the latter should avoid this film altogether.
Incredibly, once Mary is forced to seek medical care for her pregnancy, the film morphs into a story about the frustrating way in which pregnant people are treated, especially when someone is seeking to terminate their pregnancy. Having Mary be, as the title puts it, alien pregnant, only makes the double standards and backwards practices of OB/GYN care more absurd. After all, if a woman struggles to obtain an abortion for an alien fetus, it must be even harder for women carrying regular old human babies. In these sequences, the film doesn’t entirely abandon its brazenly ridiculous tone, but it does allow Hannah Lynch to portray her character’s frustrations with relatable gravitas. The actress is fantastic in these scenes, not letting the over-the-top nature of the story detract from the severity of her character’s situation.
Parsons is perfectly attuned to the film’s tone in her portrayal of Mary’s mother. She’s an outrageous, bawdy woman, and Parsons completely leans into the character’s total lack of boundaries with her daughter or anyone else. Van Beek, on the other hand, is appropriately buttoned up as Boo’s mother. As her son, Green gives a nervous, deliberately awkward performance that’s fairly repetitive in its mannerisms and vocal choices, but that may be mostly owing to the screenplay’s limited characterization.
“Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant” peaks early with its conception scene and subsequent insane title drop. Although the practical gore and special effects are admirable, it’s simply an obnoxious time at the movies. And I’m sure the filmmakers would take that as a compliment.
