Pride Month: Shiva Baby, dir. Emma Seligman

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Shiva BabyAs someone who doesn't enjoy uncomfortable, cringe comedies: it was surprising that Shiva Baby, the 2020 indie comedy, was something I found so hliarious.The story of a bi-sexual college student (Rachel Sennott) who goes to a Jewish funeral service who ends up in multiple embarrassing situations when not only her ex girlfriend happens to be there, but her current sugar daddy as well.The film both revels in the discomfort of the main character while having you feel empathy for her, even though all of the discomfort is due to her incredibly poor decision making.Uncomfortable or cringe comedy comes in two flavors: Either laughing at person being so clueless as to what they look like, you watch in second hand embarrassment or by laughing at the people who have to live through this situation knowing how embarrassing it is."Shiva Baby" is both: the main character is befuddled as to why she has this bad luck...until she starts to realize it and starts to deal with the discomfort of her own decisions.Comedies like this, such as "The Office", never really worked on me because it felt like I'm laughing more at the misfortune of someone rather than a situation.And yet, "Shiva Baby" was different even though it shares that same backbone.This is due to the fact that there is a comeuppance with the main character realizing how she got where she's at and, by the end, you feel like she'll get out of it better.The film has the feel of a situation where, if this happened to you, you'd laugh about it years later while not enjoying the experience as it's happening."Shiva Baby" is hilarious and quick: it doesn't overstay its welcome nor does it feel slight.It's a comedy that both revels in mistakes but gives the character the humanity of knowing they can change.