She's Having a Baby

John Hughes shifts focus from teenagers to young adults, and the results are mostly favorable. Not as deep or profound (or funny) as it strives to be, but a harmless, pleasant way to pass 90 minutes.

A pretty forgettable entry in the "man finds meaning in life by becoming a father" genre. The one thing worth mentioning is Alec Baldwin. He's only in about 20 minutes of this, but Baldwin plays his role with the kind of intensity that is usually reserved for the part of Stanley Kowalski. The result is the most out of left field and fascinating character to ever appear in Hughes film.

Much better then a typical teen romance. Its about a young couple who get married and questions surrounding happiness and what men want. And it hits the nail on the head. Or close enough. Honest, loyal woman who is sweet, caring, not a whore and looks physically good.

Hughes always had a knack for honest storytelling and this script definitely doesn't shy away from reality or the big questions. Do young men really want to get married? What does it mean to be happy? The main complaint I have about the movie is Kristy; she's not a very fleshed out character and I didn't really feel much of a connection with her. That said- this is Kevin Bacon's movie and he doesn't disappoint.

I wish Hughes had made a few more movies not focused on teens. While not great, it was interesting and endearing.

Davis is AMAZING. The rest of the movie is a competent exploration of a quarter-life crisis with a couple big flaws in terms of the female lead, but Davis is this super-intense gay love story that nobody else even realizes is happening. It doesn't fit at all but it's awesome.

Not so great. The only reason she gets pregnant is that she lies to her husband and has stopped taking the pill. That's a great way to bring a new life into a household. Bitch.

Meh.

55.500

In its best moments it achieves an emotional clarity and richness that is really something and makes one long for John Hughes to come back to life exactly as he was in the 1980s and just resume making films without missing a beat. In its lesser moments it turns into a silly and not particularly funny cartoon. Unfortunately, there are quite a few of said moments.

Highly underrated, this is when Hughes uses his usual vignettes and fantasy remarks with an adult drama about a young couple trying to be happy -- but not quite figuring out what'll make them happy. It's also the director's most accomplished work in terms of macho melodrama: Bacon's character doesn't know if he needs his writing career, a master's degree, a yuppie's boring job or a lover. Eventually, what he needs is a baby -- and I guess Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd have the best name options.

It's just clear that Hughes was a better screenplay writter than a director. It feels like it's a good story with a lot of potential, but its power is never really released. There are some good scenes (with decent direction). There are some really powerful moments on the screenplay, with potentially interesting characters; but there are some moments with terrible direction; some technically embarrassing scenes (specially those that show Jake's imagination). Poor edition.

Huge disappointment. I was hoping that this would be a misunderstood Hughes classic, but unfortunately it's an attempt to mix more adult drama with totally unnecessary comedy, and strangely it's the comedic aspect that doesn't work at all. Hughes made Plains, Trains & Automobiles a year earlier and it's hard to believe this was made by the same guy. The film's biggest asset these day is to show a yuppie lifestyle of the 80's; I wish I had a two story house in the suburbs in my 20's.