If Riding in Cars With Boys has one thing going for it, I’d have to say its the supporting cast. You have a love interest who doesn’t run off after he gets a girl pregnant, a supportive best friend who spouts inspirational quotes, a child who doesn’t exist only to be cute, and James Woods.

Best thing about James Woods in this movie? The aging makeup. Second best thing? His dead eyed stare in the last scene.

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Another similarity, at least among teen pregnancy films, is the general attitude surrounding the protagonist’s pregnancy. It’s pretty rare for anyone in these films (protagonist included) to be like “You’re having a baby? Awesome!” or even “You’re having a baby? Here, let me tell you how to raise it”. No, in teen pregnancy films, the reaction is almost always along the lines of “This is going to ruin to ruin your life”, followed by various questioning of the morals of the woman in question. Yet things generally seem to turn out out well - she often still has the support of her friends and family, and her future is not one of bleak poverty. But these movies are careful not to show the audience how she is able to lead a normal life above the poverty line.

This has always sort of fascinated me, the idea that we have to give these characters happy endings while still doing everything possible to discourage teenagers from having sex (and getting pregnant) in the first place. But even here, there is a place for a movie that depicts the struggles of not only teen pregnancy, but also teen motherhood. But does it do this well?

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