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This cautionary series, which begins Tuesday on ABC Family, woodenly follows the trials of a 15-year-old named Amy (Shailene Woodley), a good student and dutiful daughter who becomes pregnant the first time she has sex. “I didn’t exactly realize what was happening until like after two seconds, and then it was over,” Amy tells her two best friends. Her friends tell her she has options, but abortion is apparently not one of them; that choice is dismissed right away in horrified tones. The despairing Amy does not even know the baby’s father well enough to tell him, and he probably wouldn’t care; he’s a cad in the high school band who sleeps with as many girls as he can because, viewers quickly learn, he has low self-esteem. That part is kind of fun. “Secret Life,” however, actually tries at times to be funny, and that makes it painful to watch. The peripheral presence of Ms. Ringwald, once the teenage heroine of John Hughes classics like “The Breakfast Club” and “Sixteen Candles,” is almost taunting, a reminder that these teenage morality plays have been made many times before, much better. And that legacy makes it all the more sinful that ABC Family underestimates its viewers’ sophistication. Even for a didactic work made in collaboration with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, “Secret Life” is surprisingly unimaginative. The star of the football team, Jack (Greg Finley), is an earnest Christian, and so is his girlfriend, Grace (Megan Park), a blond, bubbly cheerleader who wears a promise ring to symbolize her vow to her parents to delay sex until marriage. Jack has also taken a vow of abstinence, but Grace wants to finish medical school before marrying. Jack finds this test of his faith, and the ring, a bit daunting. “Sexual purity before marriage isn’t a one-time vow, Grace,” he says at lunch period. “It’s a daily recommitment to God and his plan for us.” ABC Family means well but could not have done worse. “Secret Life” doesn’t take the fun out of teenage pregnancy, it takes the fun out of television.Read full review
Like this DVD because it teaches parents and teenager to talk to their parents or loved ones before deciding to have sex and also to use protection if the decide to with out talking to someone first. I could not watch all the this on TV so I bought the season so i could catch up on everything before starting season 2. Its a good show for parents to sit down with their teenagers to sit down and watch. It helps teach parents how to communicate with their children. It teaches children how to go to their parents and talk about the problems they are having. Great show... Good for everyone Enjoy!
One of the best Teen drama series I've watched in a long time. I'm sure most of us can relate to at least one or two of the characters in this show when we were growing up.
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I honestly do not know why there are such rave reviews over this show. The concept was a good one and ideal for the teen pregancy problems that most kids face today. However, after watching the show I have to be honest and say I was very disappointed. I grew up watching Molly Ringwald, and was always a big fan of her work. But the acting in this series was too much for me. It's not believeable and over-the-top with how chessy bad the acting is. I gotta say that if the acting was better the show may have been a hit for me, but as it is the acting is so bad it's almost hard to stomach. The only believeable characters I have seen in the show is Adrian and Grace. Their acting and their characters are believable. The others... not so much. Amy, the main character who gets pregnant, is so whiny and self-absorbed that I cannot stand her. I mean, I REALLY cannot stand her. She is so annoying she is hard to watch. Instead of feeling pity for her I want to just smack her across the face and tell her to suck it up and ACT less witchy. She whines and complains so much that I now have an aversion to her character. I just cannot believe how hyped up the show is with how BAD the acting is in it. Really. I want to like the show, after all, my kids like it and I feel the message is important for them to watch. BUT, I am at the point now where it's almost getting to be too much.... between the acting being so lousy and some of the show's story lines... it's like a snowball going down hill FAST in my eyes. The show HAD promise but the unrealistic acting and getting bad story lines are just turning me away from even WANTING to watch it.Read full review
I highly recommend this dvd.
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