'Scrambled' approaches something very difficult and pulls it off
HANDOUT
There haven’t been a ton of movies worth getting excited about in 2024. But the immensely recommendable “Scrambled” has a voice and a point of view and a fearlessness that seems to ask: Can I do this?
In a triple-threat turn that should elevate her profile but maybe won’t, writer/director Leah McKendrick stars as Nellie, who’s happy for her friends getting married or having kids but can’t help feeling isolated, the late arrival standing on the platform as the life stage boat pulls away. Recently single and aware that 34 is knocking on the door of what would be the harshly titled “geriatric pregnancy,” Nellie decides to borrow money from her obnoxious brother (Andrew Santino of “Ricky Stanicky”) and freeze her eggs, only to discover the demanding and difficult process that still is far from guaranteed even if she does everything right.
Speaking of doing everything right: “Scrambled” is remarkably attuned to the unfairness of fertility inequality, that it would seem so easy to get pregnant, and that for some it is, but for those who experience challenges the hill is infinitely steeper and sometimes with no peak in sight. That McKendrick identifies this in one of the year’s funniest movies, and without falling into political landmines or predictable obstacles is nothing short of astounding. I’m not the person to definitively say that a movie captures the feeling of being a 34-year-old woman in America. But “Scrambled” is undeniably informed by frustration and confusion and hope and uncertainty, with Nellie’s complicated feelings about parenting strengthening a narrative that could, in its middle section, be accused of becoming a baby-focused rehash of the forgettable “What’s Your Number?”
McKendrick can’t quite maintain her hold on the material, with a few scenes that lack the control and uniqueness of the others. But she’s a dynamite writer (with a number of major projects reportedly in the works) and a deceptively great performer. When her direction catches up, watch out.
B+
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