Set against the backdrop of a devout Christian family, Natural Selection is more than a satire of Christianity. It is a light-hearted story about warped individuals connected by love. Rachel Harris plays the faithful wife of her religious husband who refuses to have sex with her because it is sinful to have sex for pleasure and not for reproduction. As Linda (Rachel's character) is infertile, sexual intercourses can only result in a pampering for lust. The twist crops up when Adam the husband collapses from a stroke at a sperm bank where he has secretly frequented for 20 years. Instead of falling into a fit of rage at Adam's "infidelity", or betrayal because as a guy he can justify his masturbation from donating sperms while a woman can only stay painfully celibate, Linda sets out on a solo road trip to find Adam's sperm-son, Raymond, played by Matt O'Leary. To carry on the comic vibe of the film, the son turns out to be a foul-mouthed oddball and a junkie wanted by the police. While Raymond is a far cry from the social league of Rachel, they surprisingly develop a very strong relationship. Both actors had amazing performance. It's a joy to see their chemistry, which makes the story so absurd yet so believable. One may think this is just a story to taunt people's dogmatic observance of their religious beliefs. But Robbie Pickering has another surprise in store, which actually shifts the focus on the internal journey of Linda in her struggle with forgiveness, self- identity, and also the cravings of love and sex. As Raymond turns out to be a responsible, self-accountable adult at the end, Linda attains an even greater transformation which is also up to the audience's interpretation. If you want a movie for a laugh and a touch of the heart, Natural Selection is your naturally the choice to be!

natural selection - my friend picked this film to watch, and it looked like a slapstick comedy, luckily for me it wasn't. i was not familiar with the actors, but thought all the performances were excellent. this film has a lot of heart, its quirky, but not in a pretentious way. an excellent movie about love and relationships. i found the movie touching sad funny and never knew how the film would end, right up until the credits started to roll. i recommend this movie to just about everyone. if you track it down, grab it you maybe as surprised as i was. fantastic drama comedy, that is as good as any movie with the big budget and big stars.

The only thing I didn't like was the ending. There is not at all one other thing unlikeable though about this film. It is amazing. I waited for over a year to see it and it is well worth the wait. Matt O'Leary is really an under-appreciated actor. When you see how talented he is you begin to wonder why he was in Sorority Row and not doing more films such as this or Frailty from when he was younger. He absolutely steals this film and Rachel Harris equally steals it back and forth throughout. The premise is that Linda is a religious but neglected wife. Her husband will not have sex with her and ignores her, so to give her life meaning when her husband is on the verge of death, she goes in search of who she believes is his son. The two develop an odd relationship that works. Unfortunately, Linda is being followed by her sisters husband who is obsessed with her and believes her to be in danger. Again, the ending left me unhappy but the acting and movie were so good that I cannot give this movie any less than a 10. It is so perfect, that even though the ending is flawed, it is still perfect. That is saying a lot. That is saying EVERYTHING.

By no means am I a fan of Fundamentalist Christians, but if you're going to laugh at them, give them their due. Unfortunately, Robbie Pickering, in his new indie roadie dramedy, 'Natural Selection', chooses to take cheap pot shots at their expense. We're introduced to a devout Christian couple, Linda (Rachel Harris) and Abe (John Diehl). Linda's "sin" was to have an abortion as a teenager and then supposedly ended up barren from the botched procedure. For her sin, Abe chooses not have sexual relations with her for the rest of their marriage (now totaling 25 years). If that isn't despicable enough, Abe still wants children, and periodically goes to the local sperm bank where he can provide specimens for use by infertile couples. When Abe has a stroke while masturbating to a porn video at the clinic, Linda learns of his long-term betrayal.While Linda does have a saving grace (her good nature), her moral imperative is markedly skewed. Out of a perverse loyalty, after surreptitiously and illegally foraging through the files at the sperm bank, she comes up with one of the names of Abe's progeny, Raymond, and leaves her hometown in Texas, traveling all the way to Florida, to bring him back, so that Abe's final wish to meet the errant prodigal son, is consummated.Linda finally does locate Raymond, who turns her away at the door, as he doesn't want to hear any 'Jesus stuff'. It turns out that Raymond is a criminal who's just escaped from the State Penitentiary and has a penchant for remaining in a drug-induced stupor, all day long. While Raymond initially rejects all of Linda's entreaties, he has a sudden change of heart when the police come knocking on his door.Pickering's idea of comedy is to contrast Linda's naïve belief that she can somehow 'change' Raymond with his stubborn attachment to the stoner lifestyle. Linda goes to absurd lengths to accommodate Raymond until he steals her Hatchback, and then promptly loses it. The ditsy Christian now appears to act more like a regular human being, as she now makes it clear to Raymond that she wants nothing more to do with him. But Raymond won't give up and now pursues her with more vehemence. The years without sex has taken its toll on Linda, and she now succumbs to Raymond's advances. The new found romance is interrupted by Linda's brother-in-law, Peter, the pastor of Abe and Linda's church, who has tracked the errant couple down, and almost kills Raymond, by firing a gun at him in the couple's motel room. Peter suffers a broken nose after Linda slugs him, landing him in the hospital.'Natural Selection' ends on a happy note of sorts. Linda learns that she's not barren after all and rejects both Abe (now in a wheelchair) and Raymond, who has morphed into an unlikely lovesick puppy dog, pining away for a rekindled romance with Linda. As for the now sadder but wiser former devout Christian, she takes a trip to the beach where presumably she'll bond with nature, and contemplate her impending motherhood.'Natural Selection' might have been more successful had Pickering treated his Fundamentalist Christians with a little more good-natured ribbing than the surly group and the heavy-handed machinations, he proffers up here. And even with the good-natured Linda, she comes off as a fool for putting up with the boorish antics of Raymond and eventually capitulating to his dubious charms.The performances here are good, particularly Rachael Harris as Linda, who actually does have some bona fide comedy chops. But there's little to laugh at, including the aforementioned pot shots at fundamentalist Christians, the unhealthy relationship between Linda and Raymond, which ultimately becomes tiresome, and Raymond's love sick puppy dog act at film's end. On the plus side, watch out for the neat twist at the denouement, when we learn that Raymond is actually Clyde, and was using his roommate Raymond's name, as an alias!If 'Natural Selection' does have a redeeming point, it's the unbridled optimism of the film's protagonist, Linda, who despite her wacky demeanor, proves that there's always some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. But ultimately, her encounter with a coterie of unpleasant antagonists, relegates 'Natural Selection' to the predictable limbo of a quirky, few laughs, indie roadie dramedy.