37. Enormous (Énorme); movie review

 

 

ENORMOUS (ÉNORME)

Cert TBA

98 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

Ah, the Italian Method, I remember it well.

After nine months of tension and a wife who looked as if she was about to explode like Monty Python's Mr Creosote, there was only one thing for it.

I shall spare the graphic detail but let me assure that, as awkward as it was, it certainly helped the show on the road.

I had not heard such do-it-yourself baby induction called the Italian Method until watching Sophie Letourneur's Enormous and I still can't find any mention of it on Google.

It sounds rather more flowery that "last-minute how's yer father" so I presume it might have been the result of poetic licence. Sounds good, though, doesn't it?

I digress.

For the second time in a week, memories of pregnancy were prompted by a rom-com.

This time, the ultra-reluctant mother, Claire, is played by Marina Foïs, whose character is a celebrated concert pianist.

Jonathan Cohen portrays her obsessive husband who runs her life to military precision, allowing her to concentrate on tinkling the ivories.

Both agree they don't have space in their lives for children but he is suddenly swayed when he helps at an impromptu birth during a flight.

From then on, he is determined to engineer his wife to become pregnant despite her taking the contraceptive pill.

So, the laughs come from him seeing out a crazy plan to achieve insemination and then lose all rationality when he succeeds (as the film's title is Enormous and the poster is of a pregnant woman I don't consider this a spoiler).

There were many similarities to Baby Done which we watched a few days ago and all of the gags aren't hits.

And, sure, the storyline is more than a tad far-fetched - there is no way that an intelligent woman can be duped in quite the way that Claire is.

But on a cold lockdown Sunday, this was the sort of giggle we needed with Foïs playing a deadpan foil and to Cohen's manic physical comedy.

Reasons to watch: A bit of pregnancy fun

Reasons to avoid: Birth scenes should always be avoided!

Laughs: Six

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? Birth control pills are considered effective, but not foolproof. They're about 99% effective when you take them correctly. But that's if you take them perfectly, meaning at the same time each and every day. If you don't, your odds of becoming pregnant go up to 9%.

The final word. Sophie Letourneur: "During the ninth month of my second pregnancy, I was taking notes, it was so crazy, these twists and turns, this expectation, these tragicomic situations so enormous, that I wanted to make a film."

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