Et si on le gardait ?

Truly one of the best underrated films of the 80s. Molly Ringwald stars in the lead as an honor student who gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby with her boyfriend despite their disapproving parents. The material has been covered before but because of the strong performances all around and the engaging screenplay it's elevated. It's fun and tear jerking and just feels so genuine.

This movie is for keeps! Not only is it insightful and informative about abortion and STDs, but it reminded me of how many movies from the 1980's suffered from Molly Ringwald's absence. Case in point: St. Elmo's Fire. Another example: Little Darlings. She might not have added that mystical Jean Seberg / Bea Arthur element, but she's a fresh reminder that Hollywood's sometimes takes a chance on otherwise ordinary people that have a spark in their soul. Bravo, Molly!

When I sat down to watch this movie, I expected a version of "She's having a baby" But, instead the film started off like a typical "parents-just-don't-understand" flick. Darcy and Stan are madly in love, she gets pregnant, parents tell her to get abortion, Darcy and Stan run off and elope. It was so wonderful watching them deal with the responsibility of marriage and children. FILM 2: After the baby is born, Darcy encounters severe post pardum depression and Stan falls madly in love. The families turn sweat. Even here, the film excels on teenage pregnancy. FILM 3: they are dead broke and can't afford anything causing a teenage "About last night.." They fight, they breakup, they fight, etc. in a cycle. I recommend this if you have time to kill.

I saw how the overall rating wasn't that great and the subject matter of teen pregnancy, and thought this would probably be a terrible movie, and decided to watch it any way. I was surprised how great it turned out. This is dramatic, but it is the kind I like, where what happens is believable. I thought the main characters did a great job acting. In the description it calls this a comedy, I feel this is not an apt description. If you are looking for a romantic comedy, this isn't it.

'For Keeps¿' brings back a lot of memories of the eccentric 80s. The story might be a little too familiar to some these days but I have always found stories about a young, relatively inexperienced, couple trying to make it in the real world amusing and interesting (provided that it's well told). 'For Keeps¿' is quite a decent and likable film and it brings that nostalgic 80's feel. I found the ending to be a little rushed but otherwise its exploration of a teenage couple trying to make it on their own was interestingly executed. Randall Batinkoff and Molly Ringwald are superb and a fit cast. Both actors have great chemistry. Their expression of Stan and Darcy's naivety, devotion towards and love for one another and struggle to make it, is well depicted on screen. The supporting cast is good too. Director Avildsen adds humour in the most unexpected scenes, preventing the film from going over the top with melodrama and instead bringing a smile to the viewer. The movie has received a lot of undue criticism but I believe 'For Keeps¿' is among the underrated films of the 80s.