The belly may be fake, but Kinda Pregnant’s depiction of the ups and downs of motherhood and the bounds of female friendship is more real than what’s usually portrayed on-screen. The new Happy Madison-produced comedy stars Amy Schumer as Lainy, a woman who, feeling left behind when her best friend since childhood becomes pregnant, straps herself with a fake bump of her own. One ball pit, substitute turkey belly, and ill-fated gender-reveal piñata later, Lainy might not have a cuddly newborn, but she’s gained a cadre of messy and loyal women — as well as an adorable Zamboni-driving love interest, played by the ever sweet-and-silly Will Forte (Bodkin).
Directed by Tyler Spindel (The Out-Laws) and written by Schumer and Julie Paiva, Kinda Pregnant has as its beating heart the incomparable roster of funny women playing characters with varying relationships to childrearing. Jillian Bell (Murder Mystery 2) is Lainy’s foil, who looks to her oldest confidante to help her weather “the pregnancy journey” they’ve talked about their whole lives. Brianne Howey (Ginny & Georgia) plays Lainy’s new friend from prenatal yoga, a mother of one with another on the way, who divulges the truth about what being a mother is really like — gory details and all. As Lainy’s ridiculous public school coworkers, Lizze Broadway (Gen V) broadcasts her pregnancy milestones to her social media followers while Urzila Carlson’s character, an unhinged guidance counselor with multiple restraining orders, is the only one who knows the truth about Lainy’s faux bump. Between the four women, Lainy is clearly (not) in good hands.
Here, the stars of Kinda Pregnant go behind the scenes of how they delivered such an honest and hysterical story.
Amy Schumer as Lainy and Urzila Carlson as Fallon in Kinda Pregnant.
Female friendship is really at the heart of this film. Did any of you already know each other?
Amy Schumer: Female friendship is everything to me — it’s how I survive, it’s how I process things, [and] it’s where I find my balance and my joy.
Brianne Howey: I didn’t know any of these lovely ladies. I was scared out of my mind to do this project. These are people I admire so much. Amy called me and could not have been kinder or more welcoming. [She’s] so warm. She told me that the cast is mostly women, and we’re all going to have each other’s backs. It was the most refreshing conversation and gave me so much peace and confidence going into the project.
Jillian Bell: The first scene I was in was with Amy, and the first time we just sat at a table and started doing the scene and riffing together, I was like, “Oh, I’m safe, we’re good. She’s got my back.” And then I met all of these other ladies, and they’re serious loves of my life now. I mean, they were the first people I told that I was getting engaged. These people are very important to me, and the friendship started immediately out of fear and trusting one another.
Lizze Broadway as Shirley and Jillian Bell as Kate in Kinda Pregnant.
What was the vibe like on set, especially being surrounded by so many women both in front of and behind the camera?
Lizze Broadway: It was like a 12-hour stand-up show and just a master class in comedy. I, too, was scared shitless going into this, because this is kind of my first big comedy. So to walk in with legends, I was fangirling. I experienced grief for the first time while making this movie and was met with unwavering support from these women — something they didn’t have to give but did wholeheartedly. They were kind during a time I needed it most. I couldn’t have been luckier, and I hope anyone going through the same finds that kind of support.
Urzila Carlson: I’ve never done anything like this. I’ve never been in a movie. I’ve never properly acted or anything. Even with the table read, I didn’t know what to expect. My manager came to hold my hand for the first few days, because I had no idea what I was doing. And then I walk in, sit down, and see the other ladies. Then Amy walks in, and for our first scene together, we fight with each other in this prenatal-depression workshop. First she says to me, “Hi, are you all right?” And I went, “Yep.”
Amy Schumer as Lainy, Urzila Carlson as Fallon, and Jillian Bell as Kate in Kinda Pregnant.
What was it like working with Tyler as a director?
Schumer: I’ve never met a more egoless person who could stay the course and sort of show deference to me and respect what I’ve earned in this industry and trust my instincts. He did such a beautiful job of making sure that both of our visions and our collective vision were realized.
Bell: Before I started this project, I took a meeting with Tyler early on to gather who he was as a person, and I felt immediately calm after I spoke with him. I felt like he was really down to find out how to best help me. I had someone that I felt like was in my corner and really did see that we all came to the table bringing our own histories and comedy backgrounds and different flavors of improv. And he allowed for all of it. Whereas some people are like, “Let’s go back to the script now,” he was really about, “Best idea wins.” That was set by him and Amy the whole time.
For those of you who are mothers, how did this film resonate more broadly with you?
Howey: Amy called me the night before we got to do our bathroom scene together, and it was already a pretty vulnerable scene. Amy was like, “Let’s tell our own truth” and gave me the opportunity to share my actual experience. And that is not something I’ve ever really gotten to do on set. Granted, we changed the husbands’ names and all that, but it was one of the most vulnerable experiences, and it’s a scene that I’m so grateful Amy had us push the limits.
Schumer: That scene specifically, and the way we shot it, felt so intimate and safe. We rewrote that scene and fought for our own vision. This whole story, and working with all these women, it just felt kind of revolutionary and badass to me. This is for us.
Bell: That scene with Brianne and Amy where Brianne shared her birth story really impacted me. I felt myself leaning in so hard while I was watching it and just feeling how special that is.
Carlson: I also think this movie really catches the chaos and the humor leading up to having a baby. There’s so much expectation, from the gender reveal to announcing the pregnancy. I feel like, back in the day, you just got pregnant and had the kid. And now there are all these things that you need to hit to get there. I think this movie captures all of that, and it’s really funny.
Brianne Howey as Megan and Amy Schumer as Lainy in Kinda Pregnant.
Describe Kinda Pregnant in three words.
Howey: Liberating, charming, real.
Broadway: Unhinged, tender, ass-slapping.
Bell: Empowering, hilarious, vulnerable.
Carlson: Funny, supportive, groundbreaking.
Schumer: No fucks given.
What do you hope audiences take away from Kinda Pregnant?
Schumer: I think it’s going to really comfort people at a time when they need it. I hope people see themselves and recognize themselves in these moments and maybe take a moment to reflect on the women in their lives.
Howey: I hope people laugh their asses off, because we did when we were watching it. And I hope people see that this story is also about chosen family and how much we need community. We have to rely on each other.
Bell: Any woman at whatever stage they are with having kids — or not having kids — there’s a character for them in this movie.
Broadway: I hope it brings people so much joy and community. Even if you watch this film and you aren’t a mother, you will feel seen and heard.
Carlson: I hope people walk away from this film and go, “Fuck, that made me feel great!”
