Fifteen and Pregnant

Fifteen and Pregnant
Cover of the 2005 DVD release.
Directed by	Sam Pillsbury
Produced by	Diane Kerew
Written by	Susan Cuscuna
Starring	Kirsten Dunst Park Overall David Andrews
Music by	Stephen Edwardsies
Cinematography	James Bartle
Editing by	Michael S. Murphy
Distributed by	Lifetime Television
Release date(s)	January 19, 1998
Running time	96 min.
Country	US
Language	English

Fifteen and Pregnant is a 1998 made-for-television drama starring Kirsten Dunst, Park Overall and David Andrews. Based on a true story, Dunst portrays a 15-year-old pregnant girl, who has to deal with giving birth before driving a car.

Plot

The film opens with 14-year-old Tina having sex with her boyfriend Ray, who clearly doesn't care for her while doing it. A few days later Tina is sitting in the car with her mother and a program comes on the radio about the number of teenagers getting pregnant. Tina's mother asks her if she knows anyone who is sexually active at her age, or if she has ever been sexually active, and Tina nods her head yes, although her mother doesn't know if she admitted to knowing someone who's had sex or if she herself has had sex which she tells her worries of to her friend at work because Tina has always been somewhat irresponsible. Later in the bathroom at school, Tina discovers that she has started her period, and is extremely relieved. However, it only lasts two days and was only spotting, and came two months too late. She and her friend Laurie, a young mother herself who got pregnant at 17, go to the clinic where it is confirmed that she is pregnant.

Tina's birthday comes, and she is saddened because another birthday has passed and she doesn't have a boyfriend since Ray told her a few days after they had sex that he didn't want to be with her and would rather want to focus on sports. Her mother gives her a grey sweater that she desired, but is quickly angered when her mother offers advice on how to wear it, because she is trying to hide her stomach. It all comes to a head when Laurie tells Tina to tell her mother about the pregnancy and she does. Her mother, a staunch Catholic, is shocked but due to her beliefs, decides to help her daughter. Her dad is less upset and comforts his daughter. When Tina tells Ray - the baby's father - he feigns happiness.

Throughout the stressful pregnancy, Tina's younger sister Rachel reacts with both disgust and jealousy by the attention Tina receives from her concerned parents. Even when she breaks her ankle Tina receives more attention, for example Rachel is made to get off a couch because Tina was lying there, and is made to go upstairs on her crutches to be able to lie down. Eventually Rachel calls their grandmother to ask permission to live with her. As the pregnancy becomes more and more overwhelming, Tina begins pregnancy classes with her mother. After hearing a story from a girl about how hard teenage motherhood is and how her boyfriend cheated on her, Tina calls Ray and yells at him because she thinks he won't be a good father like he promised he would be. For a while she tries to make him stay with her, but when Ray isn't as present as she would like him to be, Tina goes investigating and while at the mall she finds Ray kissing another girl, cheating on her. She is upset and tells him she is over him and ends their relationship.

Tina is rushed to the hospital and is about to give birth when her mother has a panic attack on how her daughter is going to have a baby. When Tina is in labor, Ray shows up at the hospital with his new girlfriend only to be turned away by Tina's father, telling him "sperm doesn't entitle you to much" and tells him to wait in the waiting room. After a grueling labor, Tina gives birth to a baby boy named Caleb, and meets her younger sister and grandmother outside the hospital where they all have a small family reunion.

Cast

• Kirsten Dunst as Tina Spangler
• Park Overall as Evie Spangler
• David Andrews as Cal Spangler
• Julia Whelan as Rachel Spangler
• Daniel Kountz as Ray Wood

External links

• Fifteen and Pregnant at the Internet Movie Database