ML Delphi Premier Productions, TriStar Pictures,
Molly Ringwald, John Zarchen, Randall Batinkoff, Pauly Shore, Michelle Downey, Kenneth Mars, Patricia Barry, Miriam Flynn, Conchata Ferrell
Darcy Elliot (Molly Ringwald) is a budding journalist who is a popular superstar in her senior year. She lives with her single Mom who wants more to be her friend than her Mother. She has a boyfriend Stan Bobrucz (Randall Batinkoff) dreams of being an architectural engineer and has been hoping for a scholarship to CalPoly, and with his grades, he’ll probably make it. He lives and works with his Dad and Mom. They’re worried about going to colleges very far apart, but not surprisingly Darcy ends up pregnant. Darcy’s Mom is devastated because it will in convenience her, and she wants an abortion. Stan’s parents are Catholic and they insist on giving the baby up for adoption. But Darcy and Stan decided to get married and work things out by themselves causing them lots of grief.
Everyone knows Molly Ringwald from her excellent work in “The Breakfast Club”, “Pretty in Pink” and of course the classic “Sixteen Candles”, but I doubt very many people remember this film. Well, it is a bit sappy like a good romantic comedy usually is, but it’s a pretty good story supplemented by some pretty darn good acting. It’s hard to figure out who’s the more spoiled of these kids, but in the end it’s simply that they’re too young. Both are very good kids, and they love each other very much, but the stress of being children who need to act like adults is very tough.
This is a “After-school Special” on steroids and has both good and bad news about teenage pregnancy, but it’s a sad story even though it’s got a lot of happy moments. This is a classic 1988 film, and it’s age shows, but the story is good enough for today’s headlines. This is a chance to see some serious drama out of Molly, and is one of the best of that time period for her. This is well worth watching if you can find it. It’s on Netflix and occasionally available on pay cable.
I do not have a trailer for this film, but here is a scene from the film from YouTube.
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Dan said
August 8 2012 @ 7:12 am
I’m familiar with Molly Ringwald’s coming-of-age teen stuff of the John Hughes ilk but this film from the 1980s passed me by. I’m guessing for good reason as the clip does make me think it’s a little too soap-opera for my liking. That said, I like Ringwald and might check this out if I notice it on TV.