Premature review – sunny charm provides screwball energy for surprise-pregnancy comedy
The Guardian reviews Premature, the debut feature from first-time director Kevin Walls, a low-budget Scottish screwball comedy about a young couple navigating an unplanned pregnancy. The review finds it "sweet-natured" enough to overcome a few misjudged comic set-pieces, praising the film's charm even where the script's balance falters.
The story follows Eilidh (Elle Watson), an art school dropout working as a museum café barista, and her flatmate-with-benefits Cameron (James Rottger), a finance worker burdened by student debt who has just landed an interview for his dream job. Eilidh unexpectedly falls pregnant and chooses not to take abortion tablets, a decision the film treats without wading into the wider pro-choice/anti-abortion debate, though the reviewer notes the script leans more towards Cameron's career anxieties than Eilidh's perspective. A widely criticised "mumzilla" cot-heist scene is singled out as a low point, while moments involving Cameron's father provide warmth. Premature opens in UK and Irish cinemas on 18 September.
- Guardian reviews Scottish comedy Premature, out 18 September.
- First-time director Kevin Walls tells surprise-pregnancy screwball story.
- Charming overall, but one "cot heist" scene misfires badly.