Doula (film)

Last updated
Doula
Directed byCheryl Nichols
Written byArron Shiver
Produced by Chris Pine
Ian Gotler
Erin Fahey
Anabella Casanova
Sage Price
Starring Troian Bellisario
Arron Shiver
Will Greenberg
Chris Pine
CinematographyDrew Bienemann
Edited byF. Rocky Jameson
Nadav Heyman
Music by Stefan Skarbek
Production
companies
Barry Linen Motion Pictures
Vacation Theory
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • April 20, 2022 (2022-04-20)(Seattle)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Doula is a 2022 American comedy film written by Arron Shiver, directed by Cheryl Nichols and starring Troian Bellisario, Shiver, Will Greenberg and Chris Pine.

Contents

Plot

Basketball coach Deb is expecting her first child with her artist boyfriend Silvio. Their seasoned doula Penka temporarily lives with the couple as they prepare for the birth. During a guided meditation, Deb and Silvio discover Penka has died. While attending her funeral, they see Penka’s only child Sascha. While at the house to collect his mother’s things, Sascha reminisces about his mother and how they both became doulas. Leading to Silvio inviting him to stay as he still wants Deb to give birth at home. Although Deb is uneasy about having a stranger around, she agrees.

With Silvio often away for work and Deb on maternity leave, she and Sascha spend a lot of time together. Even going to a prenatal appointment where Deb learns she’s having a boy. Her doctor also encourages her to have a hospital delivery. Sascha assures Deb that he won’t stop her from going to the hospital if that’s what she wants as it’s his job to support her. Later at the house, Sascha accepts a video call from Will, Silvio’s teenage son who is out-of-state. Deb speaks with him for the first time, and learns that Will is going to be living with them soon. She confronts Silvio over making such a big decision with asking her. She later tells her mother’s group how she doesn’t feel like a person anymore, and is worried that she will be an afterthought with Will and the baby in the house.

Following a birth simulation led by Sascha, Silvio breaks down and reveals that Will almost died during his hospital birth. Deb is sympathetic, but remains firm that how she has the baby is her decision. Silvio increasingly becomes annoyed at Sasha‘s presence at the house and; even briefly firing him while the three are at the park. It also comes out that Sylvio will be leaving the following day to pick Will up despite Deb being close to her due date. Deb kicks him out of the house in response.

After drinking wine and throwing up, Deb admits to Sascha that she’s scared she won’t love her baby. She begins having contractions, and goes to the hospital. Her doctor wants to give her Pitocin, but she ultimately decides to deliver at home. Silvio returns around the same time; feeling more clearheaded about his life after taking hallucinogenic mushrooms. Following the birth, the midwife notices Deb is bleeding and urges them to call for an ambulance. Deb later wakes up at the hospital to Silvio holding their newborn daughter. While Deb is relieved to no longer be pregnant, Sascha tells them that the hardest part (i.e., being parents) has now begun.

Cast

Release

The film premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on April 20, 2022 and was initially going to be released to digital and on-demand on June 20, 2022. [1] The digital and on-demand release date was moved to June 28, 2022. [2] [3]

Reception

Barbara Shulgasser of Common Sense Media awarded the film three stars out of five. [4]

Michael Nordine of Variety gave the film a negative review and wrote, "...it’s rare for a star of (Chris Pine)'s level to be involved with such a small, intimate project, and there’s little doubt that Doula was a labor of love. Even so, the film rarely being ha-ha funny makes it drag." [5]

Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times gave the film a positive review and wrote, "The running time is too long, and the finale’s screaming too prolonged; but, unlike childbirth, this good-natured movie delivers a dry, funny and utterly painless experience." [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Beals</span> American actress (born 1963)

Jennifer Beals is an American actress. She made her film debut in My Bodyguard (1980), before receiving critical acclaim for her performance as Alexandra Owens in Flashdance (1983), for which she won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Walsh</span> Canadian actress

Amanda Walsh is a Canadian actress, writer, and former VJ for the Canadian television station MuchMusic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaime Pressly</span> American actress and model (born 1977)

Jaime Elizabeth Pressly is an American actress and model. Known for her role as Joy Turner on the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl (2005–2009), she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and garnered nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has appeared in films including: Jerry Springer's Ringmaster (1998), Not Another Teen Movie (2001), Joe Dirt (2001), I Love You, Man (2009), and A Haunted House 2 (2014). For her portrayal of Jill Kendall on the CBS sitcom Mom (2014–2021), she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Murray (actor)</span> American actor

Sean Harland Murray is an American actor known for his role as Special Agent Timothy McGee on the American TV drama NCIS. He also played Thackery Binx in Disney's Halloween film Hocus Pocus and Danny Walden in the military drama series JAG.

<i>John Tucker Must Die</i> 2006 film by Betty Thomas

John Tucker Must Die is a 2006 teen comedy film directed by Betty Thomas. The film is about a trio of teenage girls who plot to break the heart of school basketball star John Tucker after they learn he has been secretly dating all three and pledging each is "the one". They recruit a shy, unpopular girl in their scheme to publicly humiliate him.

<i>Bart Got a Room</i> 2008 American film

Bart Got a Room is a 2008 comedy film written and directed by Brian Hecker, and stars Steven Kaplan, Alia Shawkat, William H. Macy, and Cheryl Hines. Also appearing in the film are Ashley Benson, Brandon Hardesty, Kate Micucci, Jennifer Tilly, Dinah Manoff and Chad Jamian Williams as Bart. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 25, 2008. It had a limited US release in select theaters on April 3, 2009, and was released on DVD on July 28, 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick J. Adams</span> Canadian and American actor

Patrick Johannes Adams is a Canadian and American actor. He is known for playing Mike Ross, a college dropout turned unlicensed lawyer in USA Network's series Suits. For his role in Suits, Adams was nominated in 2012 for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series at the 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

William "Will" Janowitz is an American actor and writer for film and television. He is best known for playing Meadow Soprano's fiancé, Finn DeTrolio, on The Sopranos, Hymie Weiss on Boardwalk Empire (2012–2013), and Trevor in Bikini Moon (2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troian Bellisario</span> American actress (born 1985)

Troian Avery Bellisario is an American actress. A graduate of the University of Southern California, in 2010, she received her breakthrough role as Spencer Hastings in the Freeform drama series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017), for which she received worldwide recognition and multiple awards and nominations.

<i>Killing Bono</i> 2011 film by Nick Hamm

Killing Bono is a 2011 comedy film directed by Nick Hamm, based on Neil McCormick's memoir Killing Bono: I Was Bono's Doppelgänger (2003).

<i>Red Lights</i> (2012 film) 2012 film by Rodrigo Cortés

Red Lights is a 2012 psychological supernatural thriller film written, directed, produced and edited by Rodrigo Cortés and starring Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Toby Jones, Joely Richardson, and Elizabeth Olsen. The plot focuses on a physicist (Murphy) and a university psychology professor (Weaver), both of whom specialise in debunking supernatural phenomena, and their attempt at discrediting a renowned psychic whose greatest critic mysteriously died 30 years prior.

<i>C.O.G.</i> 2013 American film

C.O.G. is an American comedy drama film directed and written by Kyle Patrick Alvarez and starring Jonathan Groff. The film, whose title stands for Child of God, is based on a David Sedaris short story from his book of collected essays, Naked. It marks the first time one of Sedaris's stories was adapted for film. It co-stars Denis O'Hare, Casey Wilson, Dean Stockwell, Troian Bellisario, and Corey Stoll. C.O.G. was filmed on location in Forest Grove, Oregon in October 2012.

<i>Whered You Go, Bernadette</i> 2012 novel by Maria Semple

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a 2012 epistolary comedy novel written by Maria Semple. The plot revolves around an agoraphobic architect and mother named Bernadette Fox, who goes missing prior to a family trip to Antarctica. It is narrated by her 15-year-old daughter Bee Branch, and is told in a series of documents with the occasional interlude by Bee.

<i>Here Alone</i> (film) 2016 American film

Here Alone is a post-apocalyptic film directed by Rod Blackhurst. Written by David Ebeltoft, the film premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and was released theatrically on March 30, 2017.

Alex Drake (<i>Pretty Little Liars</i>) Fictional character

Alexandra “Alex” Drake is a fictional character created by I. Marlene King and portrayed by Troian Bellisario in the American television series Pretty Little Liars. Officially introduced in the series finale, Alex Drake is both the identical twin of main character Spencer Hastings and the previously anonymous identity known as "A.D."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Rothe</span> American actress (born 1987)

Jessica Ann Rothenberg, better known as Jessica Rothe, is an American actress. After appearing in independent films and on stage, her breakthrough came with playing Tree Gelbman in the comedy slasher film Happy Death Day (2017) and its 2019 sequel, which established her as a scream queen.

<i>Whered You Go, Bernadette</i> (film) 2019 American comedy-drama film by Richard Linklater

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a 2019 American comedy-drama film directed by Richard Linklater from a screenplay by Linklater, Holly Gent, and Vince Palmo, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Maria Semple. It stars Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer, and Laurence Fishburne.

Adrian Shergold is a British film and television director.

Michael Sarnoski is an American filmmaker. He is best known for writing and directing the films Pig (2021) and A Quiet Place: Day One (2024).

<i>Dream Scenario</i> 2023 film by Kristoffer Borgli

Dream Scenario is a 2023 American black comedy fantasy film written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli. It is produced by Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen under their Square Peg banner, alongside Nicolas Cage, Jacob Jaffke, and Tyler Campellone. It stars Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula and Dylan Baker. Cage plays Paul Matthews, a mild-mannered biology professor who begins appearing in the dreams of others.

References

  1. ↑ Remley, Hilary (April 21, 2022). "'Doula': Troian Bellisario Stars in Chris Pine-Produced Comedy Arriving This Summer". Collider. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  2. ↑ Nash, Anthony (May 11, 2022). "Doula Trailer: Troian Bellisario and Chris Pine Star in Comedy". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  3. ↑ Devore, Britta (May 11, 2022). "'Doula' Trailer Spotlights Troian Bellisario in Quirky Pregnancy Comedy From Executive Producer Chris Pine". Collider. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  4. ↑ Shulgasser, Barbara. "Parents' Guide to Doula". Common Sense Media. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  5. ↑ Nordine, Michael (June 30, 2022). "'Doula' Review: Chris Pine-Produced Pregnancy Comedy Is a Labor of Love, Just Not a Very Funny One". Variety. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  6. ↑ Catsoulis, Jeannette (June 28, 2022). "'Doula' Review: Rules of Contraction". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.