Rabbit Test (1978) Plot Summary Explained

Lionel becomes pregnant after a spontaneous one-night stand arranged by his cousin Danny. The exact mechanics are never explained, the film plays the premise as an absurd, miraculous occurrence. After the encounter, Lionel starts feeling nauseated and vomiting, which eventually leads to the discovery that he is the world's first pregnant man.

• pregnant man
• male pregnancy
• how it happened
• lionel carpenter

The President fears that if male pregnancy became widespread, it would disrupt population dynamics and traditional gender roles. Since Lionel is the world's first documented case, the Army is ordered to pursue him, treating his unusual condition as a matter of national security and social stability. This adds a farcical layer of government absurdity to the personal story.

• army
• president
• government
• pursuit
• male pregnancy consequences

Segoynia Savaka is one of Lionel's immigrant students at the night school. The awkward meeting occurs when Lionel vomits on her during a one-night stand, but instead of ending their connection, it becomes an unlikely icebreaker. Their relationship develops from this bizarre start into a genuine romance that serves as the emotional core of the film.

• segoynia savaka
• love interest
• student
• relationship

Segoynia's grandmother, played by Roddy McDowall in drag, delivers the film's central revelation: that Lionel is the world's first pregnant man. This intuitive prophecy launches the comedic premise and becomes a running source of jokes about society's reaction to male pregnancy.

• fortune teller
• roddy mcdowall
• prophecy
• pregnant man prediction

The film's climax deliberately mirrors the Nativity story, Lionel goes into labor, there's a sense of miraculous birth, and celestial imagery accompanies the event. This structure transforms the farcical premise into something with mythic weight, reinforcing the film's whimsical tone that blends absurdity with moments of wonder.

• nativity
• birth scene
• ending
• heaven
• miraculous birth

After Lionel goes into labor, the camera rises to Heaven where God directly addresses the audience and reveals the outcome of the birth: 'Oh my god... It's a girl!' This punchline delivers the film's final twist, turning the entire absurd premise into a surreal punchline that lands with both absurdity and astonishment.

Foreshadowing: The Nativity-patterned climax builds toward this revelation throughout the ending sequence.

• final joke
• it's a girl
• heaven
• god
• ending twist
• birth outcome

Lionel initially feels nauseated and begins vomiting after the one-night stand. The embarrassing moment becomes even more complicated when he vomits on his student Segoynia. Rather than losing face, he uses the incident as an excuse to ask her out, which leads to their romance, and eventually the discovery through the fortune-teller that he is pregnant.

• vomiting
• discovery
• nausea
• symptoms
• how he finds out

The government becomes interested because the President sees Lionel's pregnancy as a potential social powder keg. If men could become pregnant, it would upend traditional family roles and population dynamics. The Army's pursuit transforms Lionel's personal medical oddity into a national-level farcical crisis.

• government
• president
• army
• social implications
• national interest