the_butch i came into this movie thinking it was just another same ole, bad acting lifetime movie that i caught on TV the other day so thought i'd sit through it. i sensed the kind of vibe the movie was trying to set within the first 10 mins and thought it'd head the way movies of a similar nature would go. but the movie got me hooked the more i watched and in the end, it caught me off guard in the most unexpected way.i won't spoil it, but will just say that i was real surprised by this movie, being that it was a movie made for TV. powerful performances by danielle panabaker, jane krakowski and mercedes ruehl, and just, in general, a good, emotional story about the journey of a young mother.now, THIS is what a made-for-TV movie should be like

depaderico I had some issues with what I felt were this movie's attempts at achieving emotional extremes through completely unrealistic portrayals of high school students, but overall I felt that the movie's many engaging elements outweigh those negatives. There were also some questionable elements which I think are positive but can't really decide. I'll start with the positive.The film generally employs a hand-held style of cinematography, which I think was a good idea; however, if you are watching it online as I was, this can blend with occasional choppiness to make it look like your whole computer screen is jerking back and forth. You can do hand-held without going the full Blair Witch!Danielle Panabaker, who plays the lead character Jacey, is exceptional. She really gets into the character, and her performance is compelling throughout. I like the way that Jacey wears glasses at home and contacts when going out -- I don't think I've seen a movie take that much attention to detail. And I don't think I've ever seen actors in her age range sell sex as well as she does in Jacey's brief romantic encounter with Brad. Also, I liked the scene in which she just kind of confusedly visits her teacher. We've all had days like that, where we wind up at the house of a trusted acquaintance, don't really know what we're doing there, and maybe wind up falling asleep on their couch. Clearly a lot of thought went into this screenplay.The film employs kind of a gradual-reveal style of exposition, in which we don't definitively learn that Charley is Jacey's baby until about a quarter of the way in. It was perhaps hinted at, but it came across as a genuine surprise--somewhat rare today in movies--that we start 5 months into the baby's life.The slow reveal also applies to the introduction of Brad to the film, which occurs maybe halfway through. What I found interesting was that the film had, up until this point, portrayed Jacey as intelligent and mature for her age. She hadn't really done anything to bother the viewer. But from Brad, we learn that she 1) hadn't spoken to him in several months, 2) nor had she told him about her pregnancy. It serves as a reminder that Jacey, though precocious, is only 16 and capable of erring.The idea of Jayce's atypical loss of infallibility is emphasized too in the story, by Macey. Moving now into semi-negative territory, I found Macey's going-wild subplot to be more than a little strange, but I guess that the purpose was to show the influence that Jayce's irresponsible behavior had on her younger sister. Anyone with younger siblings may appreciate that subplot, even if its depiction was a little over-the- top.It was refreshing to see Jane Krakowski in a role outside of 30 Rock. I generally liked her performance, except for her outburst in the first scene at her home, which seemed so overly dramatic that I could easily imagine it being a 30 Rock soap parody with Jenna Maroney cast as a character.But then there was the high school. Now, things got off to a good start, and I do have to give the movie credit for showing rather than telling: as Jayce first walks the halls of her new school, the camera pans to show the very revealing clothing worn by many girls. After this, however, they dispensed with realism and went a very generically unrealistic route. You can't walk into the restrooms at this school without seeing people either smoking or having sex, making no effort to conceal either act. A dress code is often mentioned but never adhered to. In real life, a dress code violation means that you get into trouble; repeated violations lead to serious disciplinary action. Finger-length shorts, for example, isn't just a recommended guideline: it's a rule, the breaking of which can result in being kicked out of school. For this reason, students generally avoid breaking dress code; when occasional violations occur, they try to be inconspicuous about it, so as to avoid getting in trouble. Paradoxically, it seemed as if the screenwriters could accurately write individual high schoolers (Jacey) but not groups of high schoolers. (A standing ovation? Really??)Most egregiously unrealistic, there was the the student body's reaction to news that Jayce is a teenage mother. At first, I thought that I was watching either a dream sequence or a Jayce's exaggerated internal paranoia, where everyone was conspicuously and audibly talking about her and, later, THROWING FOOD AT HER. Where did that come from? At what high school do kids start throwing food at someone just because she is a teenage mother? Answer: none. Even less believable considering that Jayce is beautiful and intelligent. I would think that her main problem would be receiving too much positive attention, being courted by lots of guys and worked into women's cliques and power struggles, a la Twilight or Mean Girls. Juno was a bit similar in this regard, as we had to believe that someone as smart, funny, and hot as Ellen Page's character would have only one close friend. Anyway, this was one extreme that I felt was contrived. but like I said, overall a great movie. 8/10 on a general scale, but 9.5/10 as far as made-for-TV movies go.

jennifer murray When I sat down to watch this it was purely because I had nothing else to do; this subject area's been done to death. Unlike anything else I've seen, this film showed the young mother's perspective and I could actually feel Jacey's pain as she didn't know whether she'd rather have her baby or keep her secret. I also think it showed the incredible sacrifices mothers will make; most other films and programmes about this subject show cold mothers who either kick their daughters out or resent them if they stay, which is not always the case. I would recommend this film to anyone and I hope to see Danielle Panabaker in something else soon as her acting is second-to-none.

bkboo317 If your a fan of lifetime, you will probably find this movie "touching", "inspirational", and "realistic". If you are a teenager like myself who once and awhile stumbles across a movie such as this one, you will find it utterly phony and predictable.The part that really annoyed me about this movie was the fact that when they would talk about girls doing slutty things in high school, or dress code violations, the girls would stand up and show themselves off while the guys whistle. Excuse me???? At least from my personal experience, that has never been the case. Yes the girls want to express themselves through clothes, but every time someone said "You look slutty in that outfit.", the girl who it was being directed to would blush or try to shrug it off.The whole film was predictable, and I found myself saying "How much longer till she gives the baby to the blonde teacher and her husband?" The only part remotely enjoyable about it was the actress who played Jacey (awful name by the way). For some reason, I could not stop staring at her. Perhaps its because of her deep performance or perhaps the striking resemblance to Lindsay Lohan ala Freaky Friday. Those were the good IL' days...