{"id":27896,"date":"2024-02-01T01:31:46","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T09:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=27896"},"modified":"2024-02-01T01:31:46","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T09:31:46","slug":"scrambled-is-a-winning-debut-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=27896","title":{"rendered":"SCRAMBLED is a Winning Debut Feature"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 97 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This picture from Lionsgate opens exclusively at theaters\non February 2nd<\/sup>, 2024.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many, it is getting more and more difficult to have a\nbaby. Having a busy life that includes juggling a career, finding the right\npartner, financial concerns and many other issues can push starting a family\ninto the background. That is, until age and other health complications can\nforce a decision into a priority. To some degree the stressful subject hardly\nseems the source of hilarity, but Scrambled<\/em> attempts to tackle this\nsubject with a humorous bent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nellie Robinson (Leah McKendrick) is a cash-strapped,\n34-year-old woman who has left behind a long line of exes. Always the\nbridesmaid at weddings, her aging father (Clancy Brown) pesters her about\ngrandkids and settling down, despite the fact that the lead\u2019s brother Jessie\n(Andrew Santino) is unlikely to be a dad anytime soon. Truth be told, Nellie\u2019s\nlifestyle choices don\u2019t get much support from anyone other than her mother\n(Laura Cer\u00f3n) and best friend, Sheila (Ego Nwodin). But when her doctor (Feodor\nChin) informs her that her ability to produce eggs is rapidly diminishing,\nNellie considers the expensive procedure of freezing them, should she decide to\nhave children at a later date. The process is incredibly rough and stressful\nfor the protagonist, who must also deal with attending events for friends and\nacquaintances who are further along in their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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McKendrick is not only the star of the picture, but the\nwriter and director, basing the story on her own experiences. She\u2019s a winning\nlead who is clearly familiar with the plight of the protagonist and plays the\ncomedic and dramatic character beats more-than-convincingly. Of course, for the\nsake of laughter several events seem to be exaggerated. Nellie\u2019s brother\ncouldn\u2019t be more obnoxious and constantly makes appalling comments, especially\nhis offer when she asks to borrow cash for her medical procedure. But while\nsome bits may feel over-the-top, there are effectively biting and blunt\nobservations on acquaintances who seem to be gloating over others while\nthrowing themselves celebratory parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A large part of the picture is also made of Nellie\nreconnecting with exes in order to see if one of them might have matured and\nbecome a potential father. This results in plenty of scenes involving various,\nwell, eccentric personalities. Almost none of the men in Nellie\u2019s past come off\nlooking like anything less than a horror show (several have the nicknames to\nprove it), but their weird quirks and sometimes unhinged behavior frequently\ndelivers laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on a more serious note, the movie also does an excellent\njob of detailing just how long, painful and psychologically taxing the process\nof freezing eggs truly is. There are many detailed steps involved, including a\nseries of unpleasant injections, with one that must be timed down to the very\nminute. None of them are easy, nor do they guarantee success. These experiences\ndo result in a few humorous comments, but as the story progresses the tone\nbecomes more somber and earnest. This ultimately allows Nellie to deliver a\nvery effective and poignant lecture about her trials that others will be\noblivious to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The job of switching gears from comedy to heavier drama\ntowards the final act isn\u2019t always smooth, but thanks to the work of the star,\nmost of the transitions work efficiently. If one were to nitpick, the movie\ndoes feel compelled to find a clear and defined resolution between Nellie and\nmost of those whom she has had conflict with. But of course, this is primarily\na comedy and so an upbeat resolution to the majority relationships doesn\u2019t feel\nlike too much of an overreach.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While elements are magnified for comedic purposes, many\nelements of Scrambled<\/em> do feel authentic and the movie comes across as an\nearnest and often hilarious comedy. It will also enlighten viewers about how\nrough the process of conceiving, or even considering having a child at a later\nage, can be. And if anyone has been through some of the events depicted, the\nfilm may even eke out a few tears. In the end, this is a strong feature and one\nthat its creator can be proud of.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 97 minutes This picture from Lionsgate opens exclusively at theaters on February 2nd, 2024. For many, it is getting more and more difficult to have a baby. Having a busy life that includes juggling a career, finding the right partner, financial concerns and many other issues can push starting a family into the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":27897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[215,1391,4465,4660,6251,6755,7484,7931,12131,12194,12473,16330,17824,17825,17826,17827],"class_list":["post-27896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-215","tag-andrew-santino","tag-clancy-brown","tag-comedy","tag-drama","tag-ego-nwodin","tag-feodor-chin","tag-freezing-eggs","tag-laura-ceron","tag-leah-mckendrick","tag-lionsgate","tag-pregnancy","tag-scrambled","tag-scrambled-film-review","tag-scrambled-movie-review","tag-scrambled-review"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27896\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}