What To Expect When You’re Expecting promised a portrayal of the pitfalls of pregnancy but failed to deliver.
Adapted from a 2005 autobiographical novel by French writer/director Remi Bezancon, A Happy Event offers a far more realistic and intimate depiction of impending parenthood and its ramifications on the lives of a first-time mother and father ill-prepared for what lies ahead.
Barbara (Louise Bourgoin) is a young student while boyfriend Nico (Pio Marmai), works at a video store.
The next nine months prove a rollercoaster ride as pregnant Barbara experiences raging hormones and nightmares while giving up smoking and drinking and being fed bad advice by her jaded bohemian mother.
Just when the arrival of their precious bundle seems to have made the torture worth it, the sleepless nights and a suffocating mother-in-law extolling the virtues of her old industrial breast pump threaten to drive Barbara stir crazy and derail her relationship with Nico.
A Happy Event runs the gamut of realistic emotions and counterbalances its Hollywood equivalent.
A Happy Event (MA 15+) subtitled
Directed by: Remi Bezancon
Starring: Louise Bourgoin, Pio Marmai
Rating: 3½
Reviewed by: Emilia Vranjes.