Film

The Pill

Name: The Pill
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Released: 2011
Cast: Noah Bean, Rachel Boston, Anna Chlumsky, Jean Brassard, S. Lue McWilliams

A scrappy romantic comedy about a guy shepherding a woman through a single day after a one-night stand, waiting for her to take the morning-after pill. It's low-budget, earnest, and unafraid of awkwardness—more interested in the mundane reality of attraction and consequence than in polished rom-com beats. For viewers who like their romance messy and their comedy grounded.

TMDb rating

2.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy light romantic comedies where a fumbling, well-meaning premise carries you through a single long day, and where awkward, sincere moments land more than gags do.

Skip it if you want sharp, fast laughs or a film that pushes its humor hard; this one is gentle, talky and happy to linger on small social discomfort rather than building to big set pieces.

What it asks of you: Settle in for about eighty-three minutes of unhurried, mostly chatty scenes that play out in real time, with a warm, low-key tone and little need for sustained concentration.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Obvious Child2014

Jenny Slate's debut film has the same affectionate chaos and willingness to centre female pleasure without apology. It treats abortion with refreshing matter-of-factness while staying funny and warm about the people involved.

But It's quieter and less plot-driven than most comedies; if you need constant movement or big laughs, the stillness might lose you.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World2012

Steve Carell and Keira Knightley spark genuine chemistry on a road trip through apocalypse. It balances deadpan humour with real tenderness, finding intimacy in ordinary moments before everything ends.

But The premise sounds like it should be hilarious, but it's genuinely melancholic. The tone whiplash between comedy and quiet dread bothers some viewers.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World poster

Safety Not Guaranteed2012

A scrappy indie about connection between misfits with an equally small budget and big heart. Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass have real chemistry while the film gently mocks and celebrates romantic optimism at once.

But It's aggressively quirky and hangs a lot on whether you buy the romance—if twee turns you off, this won't work.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Pill

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Wings1966

Both films trust that a single day and one character's consciousness can contain everything—politics, desire, consequence, the weight of choice.

A Czech New Wave film about a woman alone for a single day, watching her life refract through her own mind. Like The Pill, it's fascinated by how much can happen in 24 hours and what one person's interiority looks like.

But It's an experimental film from the Prague Spring—oblique, fractured, and very much a product of its moment. If you need narrative clarity, this will frustrate you.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall2008

A genuinely smart romantic comedy that understands how messy attraction and hurt feelings actually are. Jason Segel and Kristen Bell have real conversation; the humour comes from character, not setup.

But It's a bigger, glossier film than The Pill—if you're drawn to low-fi indie energy, this might feel too polished and plot-heavy.

Tiny Furniture2010

Lena Dunham's debut has the same DIY aesthetic and willingness to make awkwardness the point. It's about a woman figuring out desire and consequence with unflinching, funny honesty.

But It's slower than The Pill and more interested in paralysis than forward motion. If you need narrative momentum, this feels deliberately stuck.

Frances Ha2013

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's black-and-white film about a woman figuring out life, love, and herself. It's awkward and funny and genuinely moving about how difficult simple things are.

But It's visually austere and emotionally demanding; the romance is a subplot to Frances's self-reckoning, which some find frustrating.

It Happened One Night1934

The grandfather of modern romantic comedies—two strangers, one overnight, real chemistry between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. It invented the rules that everything else follows.

But It's a 1934 film in black and white with periods attitudes. The pacing is old-Hollywood slow, and the gender dynamics date it.

Chungking Express1994

Both understand that attraction is often about proximity and circumstance more than actual knowledge—two people in the same space for a defined period, watching each other become something.

Wong Kar-wai's neon-soaked Hong Kong film about two cops who almost fall in love with people they've never met. It's a poem about proximity and missed connection, gorgeously strange, endlessly rewatchable.

But It's a style film where mood matters more than plot. The romance is suggested, not explicit; some people find it too ethereal to engage with.

Before Sunset2004

Both compress a full emotional arc into a single finite span of time with another person—the morning after, the afternoon reunion. Both trust that duration and attention are what matter.

Richard Linklater's follow-up to Before Sunrise is a 80-minute conversation between two people who loved each other nine years ago, walking through Paris. It's proof that talking and presence can be enough.

But It's literally just two people talking. No music, no montage, no plot. If you need visual variety or narrative momentum, you'll lose patience.