Daddy

Ok...we all remember after school specials. "Daddy" is so much better. We had to watch it in my high school health class, and let me tell you, it quickly became a favorite. All of the urban legends on how NOT to get pregnant come to life in this movie. Come on!!! To hear Dermot Mulroony say "but I pulled out, how can you be pregnant?" is so beautiful, because he really does look confused and you know that as stupid as it seems, some people actually learned a lesson from this movie. I just get entertainment every time I see it. Everyone who watches "Daddy" should end up happy. (and informed!) Oh, and if you like this movie, look for another made for tv movie starring Calista Flochart as an anorexic-bulimic. Shocking, I know.

Okay people, give this movie a break! This (TV movie, need I remind you) was filmed in 1987. It's not going to hold up to today's standards for movies, not even television movies! Most of the people writing these comments probably weren't even alive in '87. I was; I was in high school and the movie left an indelible impression on me. I was left not only more informed and slightly frightened about the possibilities of getting pregnant before I was psychologically and financially prepared for it, but also, and just as important, with a crush on Dermot Mulroney that has lasted to this day. Stop trying to make this movie compare to the latest Soderberg. It ain't, it won't and it's never gonna. It represents a particular time in our society. Yes, perhaps if teachers want to truly get across to students in this day an age, they'll show a movie starring Lil Bow Wow, but until he plays a high school daddy who has to quit school to care for his child, 1987's Daddy will have to suffice.

I really thought this wasn't that bad. Not a great work of art but Dermot M was the stronger performer by far. Patricia Arquette was overacting much of the time. He was actually playing cello which was very impressive, and his lines were never forced. Besides, he is an incredibly Beautiful Man. Really sexy. Add that to the talent, and most anything he's been in is a lot more tolerable. He always gives his all even if some of the projects he's been involved in didn't quite hit the highest mark.. Not the fault of the actor in most cases. He's unfortunately been in some strange films that just didn't resonate at the box office. Always with A-list actors but just not always a "hit". But he is "worth every penny" of any DVD rented or purchased. See The Wedding Date with Debra Messing - one of his best overall films. WORTH EVERY PENNY! ; ) (if you haven't seen it yet, do, then you'll understand that quote!)

Very realistic and accurate portrayal of the difficulties teenagers have dealing with pregnancy and a baby without being the least bit preachy. No teenager is prepared for the emotional and other challenges of raising a baby. To those who think the emotional difficulties were overdone, I can assure you that they were not. Growing up, there was a teenager just down the street for which this movie could serve as a biography for his teen years. His girlfriend became pregnant. They had to drop out of school to raise the baby. He worked at a low paying menial job (in the movie the job was a busboy). He was stuck at home and couldn't go out with his friends nor go to college as most of his friends did.

In the movie, the couple went on welfare which again is quite common among teenage parents. Most teenage parents never escape poverty. Let that sink in for a moment. It's not that teenage parents initially struggle before achieving some financial success; most teenage parents will live in poverty their entire lives. Statistically speaking, teenage pregnancy is the surest path to poverty in existence.

I also liked the fact that the movie dealt with two sexual myths which gives the movie some educational value. The first, which I never understood, is the myth that you cannot become pregnant on your first time. No, as long as everything is functioning correctly, you can get pregnant the first, second, third, or potentially any time. In the movie, they got pregnant on their first time which they didn't know was possible.

The other myth is that the "pull and pray" method is guaranteed to prevent pregnancy. "Daddy" was perplexed as to how his girlfriend became pregnant when he always pulled out in time. He asked one of his teachers whether it was possible to get a girl pregnant when you pulled out in time. He correctly explained that sperm is still present before ejaculation and hence, it is possible to get somebody pregnant even if you "pull out in time."

I put this on to have in the background whilst doing a few chores as I love Patricia Arquette and, oddly, I thought it was very good all things considered.

I consider myself a bad movie connaisseur - this wasn't one of them.

This was a made for TV or education movie about sex, relationships & teenage pregnancy; you shouldn't go into it expectingng Oscar worthy writing. That said, it was surprisingly well acted, and aside from a few very on the nose comments about sexual health, the dialogue wasn't that corny (again, I've seen Neil Breen - you want a bad movie, I can give you a bad movie).

A lot of these reviews are complaining about one main character or the other, when really the whole point of this movie wasn't to have a likable character, it was to demonstrate the trials and woes that can afront young adults in the world of dating. Everyone during that movie was a little messed up and I felt uncomfortable by the actions of every single character at one point or another (with maybe the exception of the best friend, Dewy, who seemed dope).

I made the title of this review a quote from the movie because I thought the portrayal of Bobby's persistence in trying for sex was uncomfortably accurate and I think if more educational videos were made like this it would help quite a lot of young people. A lot of the time they portray the "no means no" message in media in a way that's one extreme or another but this movie showed that a lot of the time rejections are shades of grey and just because they rejection is soft, that doesn't mean it isn't any less valuable. Wish my younger self had seen this.

Anyways, I really liked this movie and if for whatever reason you find yourself nostalgic for the 80s and needing to educate a bunch of 14 year olds, I highly recommend this movie.

One qualm, I guess, is the information about IUDs is outdated but that's the only thing I noticed that was no longer accurate. For a movie that came out in 1987, that's pretty good.