‘Pregnant’ Ending Sends Wrong Message
Park Overall (“Empty Nest”) and Kirsten Dunst star in Lifetime’s “Fifteen and Pregnant” at 9, a fractured morality tale about a 15-year-old named Tina (Dunst) who gets pregnant by an indifferent, irresponsible boyfriend. Overall and David Andrews (“Murder One”) play her estranged parents, who see her through it.
But it’s not a smooth ride.
Tina and her mom are constantly at odds. In mom’s view, Tina is in denial about the responsibilities she’ll face as a single parent.
All the negative attention Tina gets alienates her siblings. Her brother and sister both move out.
It’s Tina’s father who is most sensitive. Eventually he keeps the family from splintering permanently.
Most of the movie is a wake-up call for teens who put themselves at risk of pregnancy. It is well acted (especially by Overall and Andrews) and appealing in how it forgoes ludicrous plot twists.
I was troubled, however, by the feel-good ending and Tina’s voice-over speech that makes teen pregnancy sound more like a rewarding experience than what it is - a huge mistake.
Pregnant teens shouldn’t be punished or shunned. But do teenagers who are wrestling with whether to become sexually active need movies that send a signal that all’s well that ends well?
Highlights
“Suddenly Susan,” NBC at 8: Tony Curtis is back in drag, guest-starring as a handsome businessman Susan (Brooke Shields) tries to match up with Nana (Barbara Barrie). Little does she know that Nana’s date is a clothes horse of a different color.
“Everybody Loves Raymond,” CBS at 8:30: This show is funnier every time I tune in (last week’s episode was a gas), and you can bet that there’ll be laughs when Raymond (Ray Romano) makes the unwise decision to ask his mom (Doris Roberts) to teach Debra (Patricia Heaton) the secret to making “perfect” meatballs.
“Ally McBeal,” FOX at 9: The romance shifts to Ally (Calista Flockhart) and Glenn (Michael Easton), whose chance encounter leads to a discussion of how they feel about each other. In the courtroom, Ally and John (Peter MacNicol) take up a wrongful death case that Richard (Greg Germann) expects to rake in a fortune for the firm.
“The American Experience,” KSPS at 9 : “A Midwife’s Tale” opens the “massive but cryptic” diary of Martha Ballard, who began writing in 1785 and continued until her death 27 years later. The details offer a vivid portrait of life in Hallowell, Maine, and the lives of women in post-revolutionary America.
The more I watched, the more I was drawn into the unexpected and often heartbreaking turns in Ballard’s life.
This is a unique program.
Cable Calls
“Biography,” A&E at 5 and 9: A new profile of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. includes both the highs and lows of his life. Harry Belafonte discusses what A&E cites as the “refreshingly frank story of a man driven by desires that public leadership could not allow.”
“Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of ‘98,” VH1 at 6: The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Mamas and the Papas, Lloyd Price, Santana and Gene Vincent are among the inductees who were honored in New York last week.
“Road Rules,” MTV at 10: The fifth-season premiere finds six new Road Rulers on a group bungee jump in Canada. Over the next weeks, their adventures will include caddying in a celebrity golf tournament, producing a public-service spot with Third Eye Blind, and weighing in with the World Wrestling Federation.
Talk Time
“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: Lisa Kudrow (“Friends”), Peter Berg (“ER”) and singer Natalie Cole.
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: From previous broadcasts, actors Alec Baldwin and Billy Crystal and model Claudia Schiffer.
“Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,” ABC at 12:05 a.m.: Joan Rivers and American Civil Liberties Union president Nadine Strossen.
“The Late Late Show With Tom Snyder,” CBS at 12:35 a.m.: Novelist Dean Koontz.
“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m.: Actor Billy Crystal and chef Wolfgang Puck. Repeat.