Too Young to Be a Dad (2002) Online

Oh no, another made-for-TV movie about teen pregnancy...where's the remote? That's what I said when I first flipped the channel to Lifetime and "Too Young to be a Dad" was on. But since nothing else was on, I decided to watch it. And I'm glad that I did.

This movie was put a great, new twist on teen pregnancy. After Matt, a 15 year old boy, has sex with Francesca (another 15 year old), he learns that she's pregnant. Usually, films focus on the girl, but this movie chose not to. Instead, it focuses on Matt, the boy, for a change. It's a refreshing new movie about a boy who's "Too Young to be a Dad".

Finally, a movie that showcases a male in a stereotypically "female" light. This movie follows a harrowing 9 months of a young boy's life as he struggles with a choice he feels he was forced to make, giving up parental rights to his unborn child.

This movie shows something very important: It only takes one time to get pregnant. After the first time, the boy decided he wasn't ready for sex, but the damage was already done. Also, the important thing shown here is that just because a person is male doesn't mean they are a sex-crazed lunatic.

We follow the life of this boy as he struggles at his age to work full-time at a pizza shop to pay his pregnant girlfriend's medical bills and the anguish he experiences when hearing the baby referred to as simply an "adoptee", as he walks around a baby product store and as he takes classes to learn how to take care of a baby he'll never have.

And in the light of this life-altering event happening, his family is proud of him for doing his duty and taking responsibility for his actions. They have chosen to see the best of a not-so-wonderful situation, which we could hope any parent would do for their child.

As the movie ends with the boy deciding to raise his child, you can only be proud of a movie that finally showcases a man taking responsibility for his sexual actions and not taking the easy way out

In reading the comments, I notice there is quite a bit written about "Too Young to be a Dad" that focus on the fact that at 15, the young boy in the film didn't feel ready to continue having sex with the more experienced young woman, who becomes pregnant.

I'm not sure why that detail was included in the script, except it was probably meant to convey that he was a little more fine-tuned than other kids his age, and therefore would make the decisions he made later on in the film.

But "Too Young to be a Dad" isn't about whether or not this kid wanted to have sex and whether or not this makes him gay or strange. It's about the reactions of two families, notably the boy's, to his getting a girl pregnant and its ramifications. Two of the finest actors around, Kathy Baker and Bruce Davison, play the boy's parents, because the story is about them as well.

In this film, the boy takes full responsibility for his part in the pregnancy, and the focus is on him rather than the girl, which is a different take, and also why this, as well as "Unwed Father" was shown on Father's Day. His actions are commendable, and the point is well made, though there are some script elements that are bothersome. First of all, what kind of a place did these people live in? The committee members the mom deals with, the kids on the bus, etc., all act as if the girl was impregnated by an alien, and they'd never heard of such a thing. Hello, teen pregnancy is QUITE common. Secondly, unlike the harsh realities of "Unwed Father," this boy is able to make his decision knowing he has tons of support from his parents and his sister - which makes it a lot easier.

Nevertheless, the movie is well-acted with some lovely scenes, particularly the one between Davison and Baker when she brings him his coffee after he loses his temper.

Pregnancy has consequences, something often lost in the fantasy of wanting a baby. The young girl in this film had no such fantasy, but many young girls do. It's good to have a few movies around that focus on adoption, parent reactions, and decisions that need to be made.

SPOILER WARNING

This movie is definitely in my list of good made-for-tv movies. It takes you into the world of Matt Freeman. He's fifteen, on the honor roll, and has two wonderful girls for friends. Then he makes his mistake. He sleeps with one of them (Francesca) only once, and gets her pregnant. From there the movie shows all the difficult choices he has to make, like sacrificing his good grades for a teen-parent program at school, getting a full-time job at a pizza place to pay Francesca's medical bills, and signing the baby away for adoption. His family is nearly torn apart by this, but they manage to stay together, and grow even stronger when Matt, after meeting his daughter for the first time, decides to keep her. This ends up becoming the family's decision, and we are left with the feeling that this is really what goes on with a young man when this happens to him.

Overall, "Too Young to be a Dad" is a solid movie. It gives the point of view of the father, Matt, which is different from most teenage pregnancy movies. When Matt gets his girlfriend, Francesca, pregnant Matts family gets torn apart. He went from Honor Roll to another kid who knocked up a girl. Matt being the responsible kid he is, does the right thing and gets a job to pay back Francesca's parents. The most important thing, is at the end Matt kept the child that he felt guilty because he gave her up for adoption.

The only thing that was confusing about that movie was after the kids have sex, it seems like it didn't happen. It kind of throws you off there.

A combination of good acting and a solid story made this movie. I would recommend this to all MATURE people (fourteen and older). It's a great coming of age story that doesn't focus on the mother. Whoever watches this movie should be able to picture this happening in real life. Also, this movie should be watched with children and parents, it will show the results of having sex at a young age.

I recently saw part of this on French TV under the title "Trop Jeune pour Etre Papa" and decided that I MUST have the whole film on DVD. Various checks on the internet led me to find out that worldwide it was only available in the USA on a double DVD with another Film called Mom ( presumably Mother !! ) at sixteen and under the title "Lifetime". I have no idea what "Lifetime" refers to, I presume its a new DVD Company ! My appreciation of the film is very positive indeed but I will start with the one negative point that bugged me and that was the attitude of Matt's mother towards her children and especially towards his sister. After all she was EIGHTEEN years old and this stupid woman was telling her that she couldn't smoke ( I mean if you can't smoke in your own bedroom where CAN you smoke ?? ) and also that she could not have her ears pierced. I cannot see the importance of these subjects in the film, both smoking and ear-piercing are pleasures that have been around for many years and have no impact on the subject matter of the film ! That out of the way, I thought the general acting throughout the film was EXCELLENT, especially the character of Matt who came over as very human and very realistic. Francesca's father came over as a generally unpleasant character, especially later on, though I admit that the actor in question has a face you just cannot forget and I have seen him in numerous other films. The young boy's attitude to the baby is so touching and I was his impressed by his going to work in the pizzeria to help contribute to the upkeep of the child. The whole story comes across as very human and generally the characters very true to life : there are some inconsistencies in the script ... when we see the baby at the end, she doesn't look new-born but appears like a child a few months old....when the two teens have had sex, they are sitting in bed looking at the sky as if the sex had not worked out correctly but events subsequently proved the sex had been efficacious !!! But these are minor blemishes on a film which will fill the hearts of those, who like myself, are attracted to modern-day family dramas, and which the Americans, without any doubt, are the best in the world at producing.

I love this movie. Its great, it shows what goes on with teenagers at times like that. Paul Dano in this movie better then in The Girl Next Door. There's drama but its good. He showed that you have to be responsible about the stuff you do. I admit i cried a little but i guess thats what they were aiming for but I love it. Its a really great movie. I'd watch it more if it came on. But hes a really good actor and he set the mood in it. It just goes to show you that people can be very responsible about having a baby at a young age. Of course I'm not saying its good for kids the age of 15 to have a baby but if it happens there's really nothing you can do much anyways. But i also wonder if guys watch it, you know kinda guide them along if it ever happens. It sets a great example for guys to handle it.

This is one of the best made for cable movies ever. If this helps just one teen not to go through what those two teens went through. It will be enough. What happened in the end because i missed it. My hope is that families will discuss this movie, and dicuss what to do in this situation.

This is definetely worth seeing. It may not be suitable 4 boys, but it shows what sex can lead 2. ITS about a 15-year old boy who impregnates a girl in his first sexual expierence. It may seem a lil too racy, but he learns from it. This is good cuz most teen pregnancy flicks all have to do w/ the girl and this is original. See it with your mom ! :)

This movie is so unusual and so good it actually presents a problem. Since you can only talk about it in superlatives, it'll seem as if you have a political interest in the issue of teen pregnancy. I'm not married, never had kids, am not an activist in this arena on either side of the fence.

I watched it because Paul Dano's performance is mesmerizing...but then so are the performances of everyone in the cast. The script is so true-to-life, it's achingly realistic.

If I could, I'd buy this for a child of either gender who has or is about to reach puberty. More than anything, Too Young to Be a Dad shows the incredibly powerful feelings involved in procreation and how different they are from the incredibly powerful hormones involved in too-youthful premarital sex.

***SLIGHT SPOILERS***

A hunchback 15-year-old boy kisses a very cute 15-year-old girl and eventually he has sex for the first time. After the act, he lays in the bed with her not touching her. The next day he concludes that he does not like sex much and does not want to try it again for at least a few years.

This is seemingly a fine opening for a teleplay about a boy discovering his homosexuality, or perhaps a medical drama about a post-pubescent teen with a severe hormone deficiency.

However, as the plot develops what emerges is a story of a 15-year-old father who is supported and encouraged by his overbearing mother.

At one point, his mother preaches to her co-workers who are not as understanding as they might be, "Every step of the way in this, my son has been amazing... I have never been more proud of him..."

The young father's older sister, who otherwise is cold towards her brother, begins to show pride in her sibling, "You have been cool about this," as she gives him an encouraging warm hug.

The 15-year-old father wants to be a father. He wants to be a parent.

Why not? We see the "new" baby a few minutes after birth -- it appears to be a healthy, happy 4-month-old infant. Just as babies were born on TV in the 1960's and 1970's.

Once the young father is a parent, he has found happiness. He insists he will be the one to change the dirty diaper. We see the 15-year-old father sincerely happy holding his baby while the teen's busy=body mother is peaking over his shoulder. Fade to black.

I had been subjected to this movie for a relationship class in my school. As figured it was nothing captivating and nothing new. Though it tries to be original by focusing on the teen father instead of the mother showing the problems that the dad would go through. It had an interesting side to it but it just doesn't live up to its originality due to the fact nothing else in this movie was original. We have the main character who has the older sister who like in every other movie like this has a thing against him, we have the stay at home mother who expects too much and when he gives more she feels offended and leaves him in the dust, then we have the father who is always gone. Then the girls side we have the parents who want everything and expect her to be perfect at all she does. On to the story like I said it was interesting but the lack of good acting from the entire cast and the lack of any good writing or storytelling. Everything about this fell into cliché the little nerd kid in school starts studying with girl, they get together, have sex and then boom we have a little kid. Perhaps it could've been better had the writing been well better and had the acting been improved I've seriously gotten more emotion out of Leatherface and his chainsaw than I did out of any actor in this film and that's pretty bad seeing as the Leatherface movies are crap and horridly acted. So far the only interesting teen pregnancy movie I've seen was Juno. So far the comical side of this serious situation has proved more entertaining while still giving the same message. Like I said the idea was original most of these films focus on the teen mother but this one chose not to instead it focuses on the drama of the father but again the originality does not save this movie from mediocrity. I really hope someone decides to either re-make this movie with a better cast and a better writer or just make another similar film because this one was wasted potential.

I saw this movie the night it aired on Lifetime for the first time, and I thought it was pretty much stupid. What 15 year old boy doesn't like sex? I don't know, the acting was okay, not all that great, and the baby was too old to be considered a newborn that they just brought home from the hospital. I wouldnt watch this movie again because it just didn't make sense to me, first everyone is mad at him, then theyre all happy at the end? i've seen teenage parenthood, its not all fun and games and sweet and nice as they make it out to be in the movies, nobody is ever truly ok in the end. The movie all in all didn't make sense and it wasnt realistic at all.