This is a sensitive and entertaining piece de resistance from Columbia Pictures. Based on the real life story of Beverly D'Onofrio adapted from her book/memoir by the same name. Drew Barrymore plays Beverly who becomes a teenage mother against her wishes and decides to marry the errant father.
Now it might be easy to define this movie in terms of the vocabulary that critics have developed to describe family dysfunction. But it would be unfair to describe this film only as "the trials and tribulations of an ambitious teenage girl who chases her dreams despite her loser husband, cribbing parents, teething son and a host of other circumstances working against her".
The movie, which could easily be passed off for a chick flick, has layers of emotional information, unraveled through its richly delineated characters. Beverly is clearly the protagonist fighting to gain control of her life throughout the film. She has to watch her contemporaries enjoy their last high school year culminating in the prom. And then they move on to their Berkeleys and NYU's while she's left wanting. She has respite in her best friend Fay (Brittany Murphy) who also becomes pregnant and partners her through her teen momhood. Ray, her husband, in a wonderfully restrained performance by Steve Zahn, was never meant to fit the successful baby boomer stereotype. He barely manages to bring the bread home but absolutely adores his wife and son. An unshakable heroin habit finally separates him from them. The son, Jason, played delightfully by three young actors and an adult, expresses a range of emotions from feeling like a reject and being miserable on his father going away to being very patient and empathetical with his mother. He assumes the role of the parent after a while since Beverly never really grows up - her past being a constant reminder of what her future was not going to be. The film however does have a happy ending with Beverly and Jason coming to terms with their personal truths while being glad they had each other all along.
Well, thats the plot overview. See the film to enjoy the carefully crafted dialogue, picture perfect performances, period detail, and music. Quite the telling of a universal story that inspires everyone to go on and achieve success and experience love no matter what goes wrong.
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