For Keeps? (1988)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

John G. Avildsen

Writers:

Denise DeClue (writer)
Tim Kazurinsky (writer)

Release Date:

15 January 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Comedy

Tagline:

From Backpacks to Strollers

Plot:

Darcy, editor at her highschool paper, and her long-term boyfriend Stan are in their last months of...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Parent | Baby | Abortion | Adoption

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Molly Ringwald	...	Darcy Elliot Bobrucz
Randall Batinkoff	...	Stan Bobrucz
Kenneth Mars	...	Mr. Bobrucz
Miriam Flynn	...	Donna Elliot
Conchata Ferrell	...	Mrs. Bobrucz
Sharon Brown	...	Lila
John Zarchen	...	Chris
Pauly Shore	...	Retro
Michelle Downey	...	Michaela
Patricia Barry	...	Adoption Official
Janet MacLachlan	...	Miss Giles
Jaclyn Bernstein	...	Mary Bobrucz
Matthew Licht	...	Lou Bobrucz
Renée Estevez	...	Marnie
Darcy DeMoss	...	Elaine

Also Known As:

Maybe Baby (Europe: English title) (video title) (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min | USA:98 min (HBO Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Finland:K-12/9 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

ML Delphi Premier Productions

Trivia:

Original title considered: "Maybe Baby".

Quotes:

Doctor: [after the baby's birth] Stan, would you like to cut the cord?
Stan: Isn't there someone a little more qualified?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gilmore Girls: Take the Deviled Eggs... (#3.6)" (2002)

Okay but uneven

The story is a sweet romantic comedy about teen pregnancy. Unfortunately it is a bit uneven. Funny, then drama, then complicated. The characters are well played in each part.

I remember sitting in the theater watching this. During the first half of the movie, it's quite sweet and more than a little humorous, but then, about the time of the baby's birth, the tone takes a drastic and sudden downturn. It seemed to me that someone from some parents league had cornered the director and said something like, "If you make a light-hearted comedy about pregnant teens, then teens all over America are going to think it's fun to have a baby... Why not show some of the problems young couples with children have to face?" The second part of the movie piles on so much trouble, misfortune and drama that it seems like some kind of Lifetime docudrama. So much in their young lives goes wrong that in order to have an acceptable ending, too much has to go right all at once. The ending just doesn't seem believable because it is such a sudden jump from the end of the second act.

I liked the characters, who remained believable throughout the various situations. The plot and direction could have been worked out a bit more carefully.