The typical rom-com cinematic hook up doesn’t usually include lengthy (or any) dialogue about birth control, sexually transmitted infections, or using protection. So I was really excited to rent The Pill, probably the only movie to use the morning-after pill as a major part of the plot.

After a clumsy one-night stand, Fred and Mindy wake up to the realization that neither one of them used protection. Desperate to avoid fatherhood, Fred ends up having to spend the day with Mindy, who isn’t particularly concerned about preventing pregnancy, just to make sure she takes the second dose of emergency contraception, a.k.a. the morning-after pill, 12 hours later. (Fact-check: Mindy could have taken both pills at the same time or used Plan B One Step, a brand of EC that doesn’t have the second pill… but then it would have been a really short movie. Learn more about emergency contraception)

Fred and Mindy aren’t exactly ideal poster children when it comes to maturity within a relationship. Fred is cheating on his girlfriend. Mindy can be manipulative. Neither one is particularly honest with the other. There were times during the movie when I really disliked both characters. They are the perfect of example of how not to behave before, during, and after a little romantic rendezvous. But all their awkward imperfections, deceptions, and missteps help give The Pill an honesty that most mainstream Hollywood movies lack. Even though both characters are flawed, it’s easy to relate to what they’re going through. Talking about sex, using a condom or other birth control method 100% of the time, dealing with the potential for rejection: these things aren’t always easy. It’s nice to finally see a movie that explores the challenges of modern dating rather than runs from them.

-Nathan at PPFA