Sometimes, the best way to approach sensitive issues is through laughter. That's the road taken by the Hulu coming of age teen comedy, "Plan B." While delivering the laughs, the underlying subject of teen sexuality, inadequate sex education, and the lack of reproductive healthcare resources for young women is reverberating discreetly along with the laughter.
The premise puts two high-school girls on a mission to acquire the "Morning After" aka Plan B pill after straight arrow honor student Sunny (Kuhoo Verma) has a first-time, completely fumbled sexual experience. Panicked, she seeks the help of her bestie, Lupe (Victoria Moroles) to accompany her in her quest. Unfortunately for Sunny, she is a young woman of color and lives in ultra-conservative South Dakota. When a self-righteous local pharmacist refuses her the pill simply because he can, a frantic race against time ensues as there is a 24 hour window within which the pill must be taken to be effective. The destination is a Planned Parenthood venue some distance away. Of course, anything that can go wrong along the journey does as the clock ticks off precious time.
The issue of reproductive healthcare for women is a serious one and while the film is able to communicate that in the framework of a teen comedy, it was also a bit of a learning experience for Kuhoo Verma...
" I definitely was educated over the course of the project, like oh, this is a lot harder to obtain than I thought for a lot of women"... "I hope that it encourages parents specifically, and sex educators to speak more freely about what's accessible, what's not and how things can be made accessible."
Co-star Victoria Moroles spoke about the film's comedic elements while also acknowledging the need for dialog regarding the subject matter...
" It's super hilarious, it's wild and it's a heightened comedy but there's a true meaning behind it"... " It's incredibly important. I hope it opens up conversation and makes an impact in some way."
The film stars two women of color and is directed by "Parks and Recreation" star Natalie Morales and Kuhoo Verma made the observation why that's important to the narrative...
" It's less about made by women for women, more so it's more about, I think, it had less of a male gaze, lens through the story telling."
Like any comedy project, even one that is inclined to educate or deliver a message, ultimately it has to entertain and audiences and critics alike are finding that to be the case.
"Plan B" is available for streaming now on Hulu.
#SeeHER
PLAN B - Trailer (Official) • A Hulu Originalwww.youtube.com
