【A Male Friend Who Spins it Around】

How has it taken this long to have A Male Friend Who Spins it AroundWill Forte as the male lead in a romantic comedy?

Yes, on its surface, Netflix's Kinda Pregnant is a raunchy comedy about female bonding. Amy Schumer, Jillian Bell, Brianne Howey, and Lizze Broadway co-star as moms-to-be building community as they get ready to give birth. There's just one problem. Lainy Newton (Schumer) is a single woman who's faking her pregnancy for wacky reasons all her own. And while faking it, she meets a real charmer in Will Forte's Zamboni-driver. (That's not an innuendo. He drives a Zamboni on an ice rink like he got the gig from a game of MASH.) 

This comedy from The Wrong Missy director Tyler Spindel is hit or miss when it comes to laughs, as the script by Schumer and Julie Paiva attempts to cruise on fart jokes and tired punchlines. However, Forte is utterly crush-worthy as the Mr. Right for Lainey, who's in the middle of getting it all wrong.

They'll meet-cute at a coffee shop, share an inside joke right away, reconnect in a kismet manner, then go on a date that feels adorably old-school. As in, going to an ice rink with a guy was romantic in adolescence and still is in middle age. But it's not so much the B-plotting of their romance that sells Forte as a romantic lead. It's the goofy wholesomeness he's brought to comedy for years. 

Charting the crush-worthiness of Will Forte

His time on Saturday Night Live led to a barrage of wacky characters, but none had us crushing. (Sorry, MacGruber!) Still, the sheer gameness of Forte's brand of comedy is enchanting. He'll chuck himself into a pratfall or throw on a silly voice or a costume made purely for buffoonery. While shooting his gone-too-soon comedy series The Last Man on Earth, he shaved half of his head and face, and still attended the Fox All-Star party, where the look earned headlines.

You could certainly argue that within its post-apocalyptic setting, The Last Man on Earth was a romantic comedy, as Tandy and his motley team of survivors fought for love and life in spite of all the end-of-civilization-ness. Another sci-fi spin on romance, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off,cast Forte in the voice-acting role of a spurned lover. His uniquely unhinged brand of panicked whining played well within both roles — as they have in MacGruber. He brought this hilarious whinging to his voice work on Bob's Burgersas the skeevy sea-plane pilot Upskirt Kurt and Rick and Mortyas the vile villain Piss Master. And while he's popped up in comedies with a hint of romance, like Baby Mama and A Good Old Fashioned Orgy,it was always as a quirky side-character, never as the romantic hero. 

Was it not until The Great Norththat audiences could hear the winsome sweetness of this comedian? In this Bob's Burgers' adjacent animated sitcom, Forte voices Wolf Tobin, who loves nothing more than his wife Honeybee (Dulcé Sloan). This couple is crazy about each other, relishing every moment and opportunity to reference their favorite movies, from Shrek to Titanic. Far from the rom-com rogues who refuse to settle down, pitching their partners into a desperate search for a more emotionally available partner, Wolf is a blank calendar, ready to be filled with whatever his lover needs. (And she's equally game, following him down a kinky romp that involves a food-shaped vehicle.) Yet the bigger clue that it's damn time Forte gets a rom-com is his skill at building chemistry, no matter the obstacles. 

Will Forte tackles love scenes and sex scenes with appreciated humor. 

The boyish charms of Will Forte are not only a silliness, but an openness that makes him a stellar scene partner. In Kinda Pregnant, he and Schumer banter and hook up in a memorable love scene that involves a bit of accidental exhibitionism. But before the garage door opens (not an innuendo), Forte brings an endearing believability to Josh's acceptance of Lainey's terms.

They agree they want to have sex with each other. But she claims she's self-conscious about her baby body (when in reality she wants to bang him without revealing her belly is made of foam, not fetus). So, she lays down rules for him: No looking, no touching. As she attempts to sit on his face, there's a thrill at just how enthusiastically Josh consents to these unusual boundaries. He's so into her that it's intoxicating. It's like the Bridget Jones' Diary speech, but thanks to Forte having none of that British inclination to hold back, it's coming at the movie's half-way point instead of the climax. He is into her and isn't afraid to show it. (Even if showing it to the neighbors' wasn't part of his plan!)

Yet, there's a moment previous to Kinda Pregnant that also proves his ability to spark with a co-star. 

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In "Will Forte and Seth Meyers Go Day Drinking and Share Their Thoughts on the Day," these SNL icons re-team for fun and drunken games. There are a lot of hilarious moments as these two old friends let us into their relationship as they strive to crack each other up — sometimes so much that they seem almost unaware of the at-home audience. But the bit that belongs in fan edits for Forte comes when he tries to get Meyers to "break" — meaning lose his calm exterior and laugh. 

Abruptly, Forte flings his face (and body) across the table between them, coming close to Meyer's nose. "You don't have to kiss me," he whispers, as the pair are a pog-width away from each other's mouths. Deeper into the bit, Forte is so close that their noses are not only touching, they are smooshed against each other. And while Meyers fights to maintain a neutral face, Forte looks him in his eyes and commends him on being a great dad, "I'm so proud of you." Rather than simply offering a silly voice or a bit, Forte goes for open-hearted emotion, then goes harder by continuing the praise through a kiss, talking even as their lips touch. At this Meyers gives way to giggles, and so do we. 

This same joyful openness is what Forte brings to Kinda Pregnant. So, when his Zamboni rolls up in a big romantic gesture, we smile big and broad, like Meyers after getting a chatty kiss from a prince of comedy. 

Kinda Pregnant is now streaming on Netflix.