“She’s having a baby” timelessly

After an hour of watching the “Gods of the Dance,” I popped the 80’s flick “She’s Having A Baby” in on a grey wet day. This film is directed by John Hughes and stars very young Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern as newlyweds’ right out of college. The story begins at their wedding day and follows them up to the birth of their first child. In between, Jefferson or Jake (Bacon) experiences the tough realities of failing and potentially succeeding at the career he’s dreamed of and the nervousness about the commitment. He earnestly loves his new bride and feels he can’t live without her, but he is not ready to face the changes that occur in marriages and furthermore, cannot understand his own identity and mind yet. There are a few temptations that threaten to lead him astray: his selfish bachelor best friend (Alec Baldwin) who recently became a Manhattanite, and a pretty model who he randomly runs into twice. Jake never acts on these temptations even though he displays some interest, leaving the audience questioning if he will come to a decision of his own. Meanwhile he is faced with unpleasant situations in typical domestic life: in laws, fights about family, living with a woman, birth control, fertility, etc. But he still presses on and acquiesces to the wants of his wife.

The true treasure of this film is that it is timeless. It does not try to focus on a time to define itself, rather the problems faced in a right of passage that everyone will or has come to understand. That said, the plot is insignificant, but Jake’s transformation is relatable as we grow up and meet the next stage of life. Hughes portrays Jake’s journey in his point of view not only in voice over narration, but also uses the camera to stay close to Jake’s perspective. His wife, Kristy (McGovern) is not given a voice to display her view on Jake at all. We see her as he views her and comments on his feelings, which would be different in watching them through the third person omniscient view.

 I personally found it as a helpful guide since I watched it just as I moved in with my boyfriend and am still struggling to accept the current job market situation.  As an adult, everything becomes a lot more difficult. We just have to remember that we also are rewarded more than we used to be even if the rewards are more infrequent and harder to attain.