I'm surprised at the 5.5 rating for this film, as I found it to be filled with razor sharp dialogue that rang true to life, laced with humor but also raised some serious social issues, mainly the conflict families face with a newborn when they don't have long term maternity leave available.The most talented actress Cobie Smulders is excellent here as Samantha, a high school science teacher, in Chicago, who's working for a school scheduled to close at the end of the semester. She's been in a long term relationship with John (Anders Holm), when she unexpectedly discovers she's pregnant. They decide to quickly marry at the local courthouse, and you can see they have indeed a loving relationship.At the same time, one of Samantha's senior students, Jasmine, superbly portrayed by Gail Bean (an actress to watch in the future), finds out she's pregnant as well. This will subsequently bring Samantha and Jasmine closer together, and Samantha will try to help her student apply for college and hopefully build a more solid future.Initially, I thought things in the movie were perhaps too sugary sweet, but as it progressed there were conflicts that arose, and it all came down to a most poignant ending, in my opinion.All in all, I found this to be an exceptional indie, filled with most solid performances, good direction from Kris Swanberg, who also wrote the true-to-life script with Megan Mercier. It also raised some important social issues as well, without being too preachy.

To be honest i went straight past this movie as looking a bit "boring" (and yes im a woman) But hubby decided to pick it. I'm glad he did now in hindsight.It gives a really touching account, if thats the right word to use, perspective from the eyes of different people and different circumstances in life and how they rationalize and reason. Maybe it was prettied over in parts but that was at the director/producers doing. I think its main objective is not to be deeply depressing or harsh on matters that have been done often, this sits middle of the road as to not offend people on either side of judgements and for that i commend it. I can not stand movies that are so far off base because of the film makers motives or opinions. It's a talent to stay neutral and do it well for character and plot development.This is a movie you might only watch once but i think anyone could learn or take something away from it about people and life in general.

Unexpected is precisely the kind of film one well-acquainted with the mumblecore subgenre in film would expect Kris Swanberg, the wife of director/writer/producer/actor/do-it-all-man Joe Swanberg would make, and that's by no means a bad thing. Her husband has made a career making no-budget films revolving around millennials grappling with happiness, personal enrichment, existential dread, technology, sexual angst, sexual tension, and relationships, and here, in her third feature, following two decidedly smaller efforts, Unexpected tackles a story of two people going through the same tribulation/blessing and finding themselves seeing different experiences.We focus on Samantha Abbott (Cobie Smulders), a young teacher at an underfunded public school in Chicago that will see its doors close following this school year. Samantha, being one of the only white teachers in the largely urban school, does something few of her peers seem to do, which is encourage her students to apply for college, even going as far as to sit with them individually while they apply and work out possible financial aid opportunities. One day, however, Samantha discovers she is pregnant with her boyfriend John (Anders Holm). Samantha doesn't know how this will effect her future, especially when she has John declaring she can take a year or two off of work to raise the kid while he'll float the family with his income.However, this idea doesn't sit well with Samantha largely because she doesn't want to be a mother and have everything else come second. Yet, despite this, Samantha impulsively marries John, holding a brief service with no family, much to the dismay of her mother (Elizabeth McGovern), who feels she's going about this pregnancy in a backhanded way. Even though Samantha and John seem to be at opposing ends throughout this whole process, Samantha finds comfortable empathy and friendship in Jasmine (Gail Bean), one of her students, a high school senior, who is also pregnant by her current boyfriend. Jasmine lives with her grandmother, and while she does want to go to college, the lofty pricetag that comes with and the potential of not being there for her child are budding factors that always cross her mind.Unexpected deals with how the same sort of circumstance can provide for different experiences depending on a variety of factors. Both Jasmine and Samantha aren't wholly far in age (she's about eighteen, she's maybe in her early-thirties), but their racial divide is clearly present, especially when considering colleges to apply to and having to work around Jasmine's tumultuous homelife in order to make college a reality. If nothing else, Swanberg effectively shows us the idea that every kid should go to college isn't a bad idea, in theory, but in practice, without taking into account different financial and stability situations, is a very messy ordeal.Swanberg keeps the pregnancy jokes down to a minimum, pleasantly so; only one scene involving Cheetos and pickle-juice will evoke some form of nauseousness, while the remainder of the film is helmed by strong conversations between Samantha and Jasmine, or Samantha and John, as we see one relationship brew and a marriage that should've never been slowly divulge into arguments. This is also, somewhat unsurprisingly so, a story of trying to find your personal identity amidst a change that will potentially make your life come second to the life of a child. The recurring theme in many of these newer independent films is trying to find some comfort in one's self, and Unexpected shows that by having Samantha's boyfriend trying to dictate what she will do and how she will live her life following a baby. She doesn't want the next ten years already laid out before her and she definitely doesn't want them meticulously mapped out by someone who isn't her.At Unexpected's core are its performances and dialog, and Smulders proves that's she's more than a background character in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., in addition to Bean, who has serious acting talent, with an ability to be emotional without being too obvious in her feelings. This is a film that really shows how something widely regarded as a blessing can be a setback or a difficult thing to manage, in addition to being a circumstance that prompts many different experiences depending on you, your social class, and your race. It's a uniformly solid film about very few people have probably seen taken with such a reserved tenderness despite being such a hot topic of discussion.Starring: Cobie Smulders, Gail Bean, Anders Holm, and Elizabeth McGovern. Directed by: Kris Swanberg.

Unexpected is a simple but powerful movie about the nature of female friendships, the dynamic of teacher and student relationships and how the same experience can be starkly different for women at two ends of the economic spectrum.Sam (Cobie Smulders) is a high school science teacher at an inner city school in Chicago that is in it's final semester before closing. As a result, Sam is looking to switch gears in her career but is thrown off course when she finds out she is pregnant. Soon after, one of her students, Jasmine (Gail Bean), also becomes pregnant, and the two develop an unlikely bond as they deal with this new stage of life together.Sam decides that it is her personal mission to help Jasmine get into a good college, despite her pregnancy. It's an easy chemistry between the two, but underneath you can feel the tension as Jasmine realizes she may not want to sacrifice time with her child to go to a four year school. Sam loses herself in trying to help and push Jasmine to be her best, and is so focused on that, that she is not getting her own life and mind ready for her personal foray into motherhood. This soon starts affecting her marriage, her relationship with her mother (Elizabeth McGovern), and her professional life.Smulders is perfect as Sam. Being pregnant herself during the shooting of the film, all of her insecurities about being a mother and bringing a life into this world while also striving to keep one's personal professional identity is portrayed wonderfully. Newcomer Gail Bean steals the show as the whip smart teen, Jasmine. Bean plays Jasmine with a beautiful strength and wisdom beyond her years, but she is also just a kid who is vulnerable and unsure of her next steps. Bean is a talent to watch, and here is hoping Hollywood will pay the proper attention.Unexpected is the rocky start to a beautiful friendship. Through their different situations and through their friendship, these two women find themselves wanting very different but equally good things for their babies. A delicate balance of understanding must be made for two such different people to be able to support each other in the ways they need.