An Unexpected Life

This is the sequel to An Unexpected Family, without the depth and emotion of the first movie. This time, Barbara is dealing with a new baby she doesn't want, the hatred between her lover and his mother, and her sister who wants her kids back. Unconvincing, boring at times, and predictable. They should have left well enough alone. There are some movies that don't need a sequel!!

This is a sequel to a previous made for television movie ? What you mean producers of TVMs are trying to beat Hollywood at its own game by making sequels ? I fail to see the logic in this since franchise movies are entirely down to money . Having said that it would explain why I felt that AN UNEXPECTED LIFE was underdeveloped where characterisation was concerned . Who are these people ? Why are they so upset about grandma coming to stay ? and so on

It's strange but AN UNEXPECTED LIFE feels like it's a sequel to every TVM ever made , or not so much a sequel more a remake . Is there a scene where a sibling feels rejected about a new arrival ? Yes . Is there a weepy court scene involving children ? Yes . Is there a scene where a grown up has angry words with a parent ? Yes . Is everybody going to love one another at the end ? Yes . Will DVD rentals increase when this type of movie is shown on network ? YES YES YES YES

First let me state that I have never seen the prequel to this movie, "An Unexpected Family". This may have been why I was surprised by it--my expectations were based on the previews.

This was not a bad movie; but I do think it tried to do too much. With three storylines going on at once (Barbara's attitude toward her pregnancy and later, the baby, the reappearance of Matt and Megan's mom, and Sam's difficult relationship with his own mother), none of them got the attention they deserved. The story of Barbara's difficulties with motherhood would have made an excellent story if it had been developed to its potential.

That said, it had some very good moments, like when the judge got ticked off at the "adults" and kicked them out so he could talk to the kids, and when Barbara finally started to bond with her little girl.

I started watching this movie with eager anticipation, but felt let down long before the end. The need for a sequel to An Unexpected Family was evident, but when the story is as weak as this, the sequel loses any point. Maybe Noah Fleiss and Chelsea Russo had school commitments which meant that they could only be on set for part of the time. Or maybe the screenwriters had failed to identify the magic that had made the previous film so moving. Whatever the reason, the effect of relegating the two children to virtual bit-part players was to deprive this movie of any heart. It is only in those scenes where Matt and Megan are involved that the film comes to life. Unfortunately such scenes are all too rare. S. Epatha Merkerson plays a nice little part, as does RuPaul. Interestingly both of them had also appeared with Noah Fleiss in A Mother's Prayer. But all in all this film simply wastes the talents of an impressive cast.

I loved this movie. I haven't seen the first movie "An Unexpected Family" but they recap it just enough so you know what is going on. ALL the actors in this movie are superb and you won't want the movie to end. It's a shame it hasn't come out on DVD but even though you're plugging back in your old VCR it is so very worth it. Stockard Channing is awesome in this movie, like all her others, and she and Stephen Collins have great chemistry. The children are great and the story line is awesome. Stockard Channing has many funny lines in this movie that will make you laugh out loud! You never get bored watching and I suggest it to anyone who has ever had family problems or, ANYONE at all!