Review of Fifteen and Pregnant

*****POSSIBLE SPOILERS***** As though you couldn't figure this plot out. This movie is terrible. Every tired cliche about teen pregnancy is trotted out to terrify girls that might be having sex. It seems like a film from the 50s. Sex = babies! Always and every time! Remember that girls! There is no birth control or abortion. They are left out almost completely. Abortion is mentioned twice briefly, and never by the girl having the baby. It is not even discussed as an option, although many, many girls would go this route. The speech the girl gives to the class about her experiences with her child is so depressing is seems to be an ad for abortion, but no. Safe sex isn't discussed either, because the film's makers want girls to know that premarital sex equals you having to care for a baby. There are heaping helpings of cheesiness throughout this movie. There are a lot of horribly canned arguments and snide comments about the pregnancy. The brother and sister seem upset about it, although no one seems inconvenienced by the pregnancy except the girl. A lot of the scenes seem very forced. Some of the better cheese and cliches: The boyfriend is a sleazeball, and leaves as soon as she gets pregnant (he even drives a Camaro!). He makes occasional efforts to be nice, but I think they wrote that in to try and make it seem like he might stay. In fact, none of the pregnant girls in the movie have a boyfriend that sticks around. One seems to, but no, he leaves eventually. Tina is forced into a class for unwed mothers, even though there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for this. She throws up in the middle of Christmas dinner. No one comes to the baby shower. This didn't seem very surprising because they only show her with two friends anyway. And for the last tired cliche - at the end of the movie the whole family comes together to welcome and accept the girl and her terrible mistake. Cliches and cheesiness aside, this movie drags. It would have made a better one hour after school special than a movie.