Unpregnant: A 900-Mile Road Trip Proving the Dignity of Choice and the Reconstruction of Friendship

The world sometimes turns a woman’s body into a political battlefield or attempts to topple a carefully built tower of achievements over a single mistake. Trapped in the prison of a compulsion for perfection and the gaze of others, we often cut off our most precious relationships first. The film Unpregnant is a cheeky yet tear-jerking journey of two girls traveling 900 miles carrying the fragments of such a severed relationship. This is not merely a trip “to erase,” but a desperate sprint to reclaim a lost “self” and “us.”

🌿 Moments When This Film Deeply Permeates

• For you, who are breathless from living according to the “correct answers” set by the world, and miss a friend who will curse alongside you.
• When you want to face the bare face of a real relationship that only begins when you share a secret you once considered your greatest shame.
• On nights when your chest feels tight at the absurdity of your body and your future being subject to the permission of others.
• Because what you face at the end of this journey is not the result of “abortion,” but a woman’s proud declaration of independence as she begins to control her own life.

🎞 Note Before Viewing

While this work deals with the sensitive subject of abortion, it does not view it through a provocative or judgmental lens. It is a road movie centered on the bond and growth of two female characters, maintaining a hopeful and proactive stance toward bodily self-determination.

🎬 Film Information

• Title: Unpregnant (2020)
• Director: Rachel Lee Goldenberg
• Screenplay: Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Ted Caplan, Jenni Hendriks, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Bill Parker
• Original Work: The novel Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks & Ted Caplan
• Country: USA
• Genre: Comedy, Drama, Road Movie
• Running Time: 104 minutes
• Platform: HBO Max (Available on Wavve, etc., in South Korea)
• Cast: Haley Lu Richardson, Barbie Ferreira, Betty Who, Giancarlo Esposito

📖 <Unpregnant> Synopsis: Two Lines That Ruined Perfect Plans and a 900-Mile Escape [No Spoilers]

Veronica (Haley Lu Richardson), a straight-A student dreaming of the Ivy League and a perfect teenager envied by all, encounters an unexpected variable not on her life’s roadmap: pregnancy. In the state of Missouri, dominated by conservative parents and religious backgrounds, there is absolutely no way for her, a minor, to obtain an abortion without parental consent.

In despair, the only person she asks for help is her former best friend, now an outsider she is barely on speaking terms with, Bailey (Barbie Ferreira). Without asking questions, Bailey picks up Veronica in her car and heads for Albuquerque, New Mexico, 900 miles away.

The two, who walked polar opposite paths as the school’s “it girl” and “weirdo,” encounter unexpected chases, thefts, and bizarre connections on the vast open road. During the 900-mile journey, Veronica realizes the illusion of the “perfection” she tried to protect, while Bailey faces her true identity, and their relationship enters a new phase.

🛣 Variations in Genre: A Strategic Interpretation of <Unpregnant> Choosing Road Trip Comedy

The film cleverly places the heavy social agenda of abortion within the shell of a road trip comedy. This goes beyond a simple choice to reduce audience discomfort; it acts as a structural device to strengthen the thematic consciousness.

The differing abortion laws across U.S. states force a physical distance upon Veronica, and this 900-mile distance visualizes the social cost a woman must pay to exercise her bodily sovereignty. The fast tempo and humor characteristic of the comedy genre do not reduce the protagonist’s tragic situation to an object of pity, but rather define the obstacle as a “mission to be solved,” granting the character agency.

This directorial intent succeeds in portraying abortion not as a swamp of moral agony, but as a medical choice and a legitimate right an individual makes for their future. The cheerfulness of the genre becomes the most powerful weapon in stripping away social stigma.

👭 Reconstructing Relationships: A Review of Solidarity Blooming from the Cracks of Broken Friendship

The core of this work lies not in the destination of abortion, but in the narrative between women that is restored on that road. Veronica was the past aggressor who turned away from Bailey for social success and popularity, and Bailey was the victim who chose isolation because of it.

However, in the moment of crisis, what saves Veronica is not the “in-crowd” or the seemingly perfect boyfriend she was so obsessed with, but her past friend Bailey, whom she had discarded. The clash of emotions that explodes during the journey is not a simple quarrel, but a ritual of confirming each other’s bare selves.

Bailey never once judges Veronica’s choice. She simply acts as a facilitator, opening the way for Veronica to control her own life, and as a mirror that draws out the raw, hidden self Veronica had suppressed. Their reunion goes beyond a simple reconciliation; it signifies the completion of a solid sisterhood that breaks the “good girl” frame demanded by patriarchal society and embraces even each other’s flaws.

🏳️‍🌈 Expansion of Identity: Narrative Interpretation of the Encounter Between Bailey and Kira

Bailey’s narrative does not stop at being Veronica’s assistant; she achieves independent growth through her encounter with Kira (Betty Who). Kira, whom they meet during the road trip, is a catalyst that allows Bailey to clearly perceive and affirm her sexual orientation (lesbian).

The immediate attraction Bailey feels toward Kira and the courage she shows in that process form a symmetrical structure with Veronica’s decision to terminate her pregnancy. One person seeks to sever an unwanted connection, while the other begins a connection with her hidden self.

The character of Kira functions as both a romantic partner who completes Bailey’s identity and a practical helper who assists the two girls in overcoming a crisis. This is a mise-en-scène showing that the scope of female solidarity aimed for by the film extends beyond just friends to the support and encouragement of nameless women met on the road.

🔎 Reinterpreting the Ending: The Destination Called the ‘Real Me’ Reached at the End of 900 Miles

The landscape Veronica faces upon returning home after the procedure is no different than before, but her interior has been completely reorganized. She disconnects from her boyfriend Kevin, who tried to control her, and liquidates her hypocritical friendships.

The ending of this film is not merely the relief of a successful abortion, but suggests that Veronica has gained “subjective vision” to discern what is real and what is fake in her life. Bailey, too, has gained the confidence to no longer hide her identity.

The sight of the two sitting side by side at the end shows a peace that can only be enjoyed by those who have protected their dignity instead of losing the perfection demanded by the world. Veronica’s abortion is an existential surgery that goes beyond the removal of physical cells to excise the cells of social expectation and vanity that oppressed her.

🧐 Interpreting the Ending: Between the Mockery and Reality of Unpregnant

Q: How do you view the criticism that the heavy subject of abortion was treated too lightly, effectively mocking actual suffering?

A: Such criticism stems from the genre grammar of “comedy” chosen by the work. However, the intent of this film is not to deny pain, but to return the initiative of that pain to women. It seeks to break away from the “abortion porn” inertia of existing media, which has always emphasized only tragedy, guilt, and bloody suffering when dealing with abortion. By humorously breaking through legal obstacles and geographical limits, the film asserts that abortion is not a sin but a surmountable life process. While a critical perspective may be valid, the value of “normalization” achieved by this film is a very important step forward in modern female narratives.

Q: Isn’t the protagonist Veronica forgiven too easily for her wrongdoing (the betrayal of Bailey)?

A: Narratively, Veronica’s fault is not small. However, the film approaches this from the perspective of “understanding” and “solidarity” rather than “forgiveness.” Bailey is the person who knows better than anyone that Veronica has oppressed herself while suffering from perfectionism. Bailey’s acceptance is not an exoneration of Veronica’s moral flaws, but empathy for the vulnerability of a friend who struggled to survive within an oppressive structure. Through this, readers witness how imperfect women save each other, leaving the judgment to the audience.

✨ The Right to Choose Oneself, Left to Us by Unpregnant

This film goes beyond a simple tale of a girl’s deviance to ask us, living in the year 2026, “Who holds the steering wheel of my life?” When the law blocked her, custom blamed her, and a partner tried to control her, Veronica ran 900 miles to carry out her will.

In the complex maze of relationships, love, and identity, there is only one way we do not get lost. It is to hold the hand of the one person who sees me as I am and speed head-on toward the place I fear most. The final right of approval for my body and my life is a unique authority granted only to myself.

🚲 For You Who Wants to Slow Down the Speed of a Relationship

Is there someone by your side who can travel 900 miles with you in silence? Or are you ready to be such a person for someone else? We sometimes crave the “passenger seat”—someone who will curse and run toward a destination with us—more than the destination itself. Who is sitting in your passenger seat right now?

📽 Violet Screen Recommendations: Female-Centric Narratives to Watch Together

• Plan B (2021): A road trip comedy sharing the same vein as Unpregnant. It sharply and humorously critiques conservative sexual perceptions in America through two girls’ one-night sprint to obtain emergency contraception.
• Booksmart (2019): A commotion involving two model students who only studied, taking place on the eve of graduation. It shows the maximum energy a friendship between women can provide, depicting the most ideal sisterhood where they cheer for each other’s growth.