She’s Having A Baby (1988) Guest Review

This review for the John Hughes Blogathon comes from Rob of MovieRob. This is his THIRD review after Home Alone and then Flubber, posted earlier today. Thanks again for all these reviews, Rob! Now let’s see if he liked She’s Having A Baby (more than Flubber, I hope!). 🙂

“College is like high school with ashtrays.” – Jefferson “Jake” Edward Briggs

Number of Times Seen – at least 5 times (cable in the 80’s and 6 Mar 2014)

Brief Synopsis – The story of young love, and the ups and downs in a relationship from marriage until that first child is born.

My Take on it – John Hughes is known to most as the king of teen movies from the 80’s, but he also was able to give us memorable movies that don’t quite fit into that niche.

This movie is one of his great movies that doesn’t fit the teen genre, but still can affect us emotionally.

The story revolves around the early years of a marriage of characters who could have fit into his teen genre, so in essence, we get a glimpse of how Hughes pictured the future lives of his loveable teen characters.

Kevin Bacon and Elisabeth McGovern are both excellent here as we see the ups and downs of the first few years of a marriage. The viewer can connect with these characters really well and we constantly root for them to succeed in everything they do; whether it be making a living, being happy with the extended family or how and when to start their own family.

These themes are all touched upon here and instead of the usual Hughes few days timeline, this movie takes place over the period of a few years which shows the slow and emotional development of the characters in their new lives as husband and wife and makes us also invest a lot in their lives.

Hughes had a knack for taking serious matters and dabbling a bit of humor into those situations making the scenes and situations more enjoyable for us to watch.

I think that when I saw this one as a kid, I wasn’t able to fully comprehend and appreciate all the nuances of married life, but as an adult, those themes stand out as being some of the best ones in this film.

This is enjoyable from a kids perspective, but more so from an adult one.

The credits scene here is hilarious and features many many cameos by former Hughes stars (some even in character).

Bottom Line -This is one of the rare Hughes movies that can be more appreciated as an adult than as a teen. Done exceptionally well by Hughes. Recommended!

Rating – Globe Worthy