Okay people, give this movie a break! This (TV movie, need I remind you) was filmed in 1987. It's not going to hold up to today's standards for movies, not even television movies! Most of the people writing these comments probably weren't even alive in '87. I was; I was in high school and the movie left an indelible impression on me. I was left not only more informed and slightly frightened about the possibilities of getting pregnant before I was psychologically and financially prepared for it, but also, and just as important, with a crush on Dermot Mulroney that has lasted to this day. Stop trying to make this movie compare to the latest Soderberg. It ain't, it won't and it's never gonna. It represents a particular time in our society. Yes, perhaps if teachers want to truly get across to students in this day an age, they'll show a movie starring Lil Bow Wow, but until he plays a high school daddy who has to quit school to care for his child, 1987's Daddy will have to suffice.
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shedbesopretty22 November 2005
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beck-8131 March 2007I really thought this wasn't that bad. Not a great work of art but Dermot M was the stronger performer by far. Patricia Arquette was overacting much of the time. He was actually playing cello which was very impressive, and his lines were never forced. Besides, he is an incredibly Beautiful Man. Really sexy. Add that to the talent, and most anything he's been in is a lot more tolerable. He always gives his all even if some of the projects he's been involved in didn't quite hit the highest mark.. Not the fault of the actor in most cases. He's unfortunately been in some strange films that just didn't resonate at the box office. Always with A-list actors but just not always a "hit". But he is "worth every penny" of any DVD rented or purchased. See The Wedding Date with Debra Messing - one of his best overall films. WORTH EVERY PENNY! ; ) (if you haven't seen it yet, do, then you'll understand that quote!)
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FluffydaMovieslayer21 October 2021This is the sort movie that shows a totally different ending to the pretty in pink kind of life dreams.
Now to think if they did this as a trilogy - they could show them as great grand parents now. -
Ok...we all remember after school specials. "Daddy" is so much better. We had to watch it in my high school health class, and let me tell you, it quickly became a favorite. All of the urban legends on how NOT to get pregnant come to life in this movie. Come on!!! To hear Dermot Mulroony say "but I pulled out, how can you be pregnant?" is so beautiful, because he really does look confused and you know that as stupid as it seems, some people actually learned a lesson from this movie. I just get entertainment every time I see it. Everyone who watches "Daddy" should end up happy. (and informed!) Oh, and if you like this movie, look for another made for tv movie starring Calista Flochart as an anorexic-bulimic. Shocking, I know.
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moniquek-0992917 May 2021This movie was so bad lol I couldn't stop laughing the things he thought and she thought that they couldn't get pregnant then that ending OMG frozen on his face like fml 😂😂😂😂😂 I laughed so hard I'd never recommend this movie.
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Strangeworth3 October 2005My teacher taped this and showed it to us in Child Care to demonstrate how teen pregnancy affects people. It just demonstrated how teen pregnancy affects a childish jock not properly educated on how sex works and a whiny, unloved girl who throws fruit when angry and couldn't tell she was with the wrong man even if he wore a sign stating he was such. I wouldn't be surprised if the father of the baby had about eight girlfriends in the first edition of the script. Stacy's (the carrier of the baby) mother is a riot. She is oblivious to the fact her daughter is past the age of four and is seemingly unshaken when people spy on her through her dining room window. Bobby's (the father) best friend's name is Dewey, and is an obvious rip off of Sean Penn's character in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. This movie is horrid, simply because none of the characters are believable. Thank goodness it's only made for TV, limiting the public's chances of viewing it.
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I saw this film on True Movies (which automatically made me sceptical) but actually - it was good. Why? Not because of the amazing plot twists or breathtaking dialogue (of which there is little) but because actually, despite what people say I thought the film was accurate in it's depiction of teenagers dealing with pregnancy.
It's NOT Dawson's Creek, they're not graceful, cool witty characters who breeze through sexuality with effortless knowledge. They're kids and they act like kids would.
They're blunt, awkward and annoyingly confused about everything. Yes, this could be by accident and they could just be bad actors but I don't think so. Dermot Mulroney gives (when not trying to be cool) a very believable performance and I loved him for it. Patricia Arquette IS whiny and annoying, but she was pregnant and a teenagers? The combination of the two isn't exactly lavender on your pillow. The plot was VERY predictable and but so what? I believed them, his stress and inability to cope - her brave, yet slightly misguided attempts to bring them closer together. I think the characters, acted by anyone else, WOULD indeed have been annoying and unbelievable but they weren't. It reflects the surreality of the situation they're in, that he's sitting in class and she walks on campus with the baby. I felt angry at her for that, I felt angry at him for being such a child and for blaming her. I felt it all.
In the end, I loved it and would recommend it.
Watch out for the scene where Dermot Mulroney runs from the disastrous counselling session - career performance. -
lavatch21 December 2019Bobby, the eponymous protagonist of the film "Daddy," is a smooth-talking high school student who he has his way with Stacy with the predictable result that she becomes pregnant.
A reviewer on this site recalled that she and her fellow students were "forced" to watch this film as part of a health education class in high school. A valid question to be raised is whether or not the film offers useful insights to young people. In the opinion of this reviewer, the answer to that question is: Yes.
Bobby's parents never talked with him directly about sex. The father indicated that "I figured he knew what to do." No words in the film are more truthful: Bobby knew what to do, but he also did not know what not to do!
One of the most interesting characters in the film is Coach Jacobs, who teaches the sex education course at Bobby's high school. The one scene from the class portrays Jacobs in a lackadaisical manner in his instruction, never getting down to the basics that the students need to know. The film takes a sympathetic approach to Bobby's dilemma. If he doesn't learn the facts at home or at school, then where is he supposed to get the information he needs to know as he enters the estate of adulthood?
The film conveys the extent to which being a parent is a commitment. Bobby assumes responsibility, but must give up his dreams of going to the Boston Conservatory of Music in order to care for young Cody. The film clearly makes a statement about Bobby squandering his future. He could have been a brilliant guitarist or cello player. Instead, he became the ice cream man.
So, yes, the film is worth screening in schools, if only as a sobering wake-up call to any young person embarking on life's journey. -
suz860025 April 2008I first saw this movie when I was a freshman in high school, and the film has stuck with me through the years. It's not about the soundtrack, or cinematography, or even the dialogue and somewhat bad acting, it's about the educational purpose, and the message behind that is the most important. It's not a sin to have a child when you're a teenager and still in high school, and it's not really a bad thing, either, but it is a problem. Tons of girls I knew are all having children now, and I guess they never watched this great movie, and if they did, they clearly didn't get the message behind it all. It's about not taking chances when you're in a sexual relationship. Any girl can get pregnant the first time. It's not a myth. You don't necessarily lose out on your dreams, but they do have to take a backseat in your future because you have a child to think about first.
This movie has a clear message behind it: JUST SAY NO! -
melissadaly25 November 2001wow... i was forced to watch this in my lifestyles theology class during our section on sexuality. the lesson we all learned from it was if you say no, you become valedictorian but if you don't, you have a kid, who cries all the time, drop out of school, go on welfare, have a boyfriend who really doesn't know if he loves you or not and he eventually ends up working at an ice cream shop and going to night school. lol. just bad but amusing.
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Very realistic and accurate portrayal of the difficulties teenagers have dealing with pregnancy and a baby without being the least bit preachy. No teenager is prepared for the emotional and other challenges of raising a baby. To those who think the emotional difficulties were overdone, I can assure you that they were not. Growing up, there was a teenager just down the street for which this movie could serve as a biography for his teen years. His girlfriend became pregnant. They had to drop out of school to raise the baby. He worked at a low paying menial job (in the movie the job was a busboy). He was stuck at home and couldn't go out with his friends nor go to college as most of his friends did.
In the movie, the couple went on welfare which again is quite common among teenage parents. Most teenage parents never escape poverty. Let that sink in for a moment. It's not that teenage parents initially struggle before achieving some financial success; most teenage parents will live in poverty their entire lives. Statistically speaking, teenage pregnancy is the surest path to poverty in existence.
I also liked the fact that the movie dealt with two sexual myths which gives the movie some educational value. The first, which I never understood, is the myth that you cannot become pregnant on your first time. No, as long as everything is functioning correctly, you can get pregnant the first, second, third, or potentially any time. In the movie, they got pregnant on their first time which they didn't know was possible.
The other myth is that the "pull and pray" method is guaranteed to prevent pregnancy. "Daddy" was perplexed as to how his girlfriend became pregnant when he always pulled out in time. He asked one of his teachers whether it was possible to get a girl pregnant when you pulled out in time. He correctly explained that sperm is still present before ejaculation and hence, it is possible to get somebody pregnant even if you "pull out in time." -
Really quite terrible, with bad acting. With two actors who are now more experienced and are much better than what they were here, this movie is about the pressure of a relationship troubled by a baby while the couple is still in high school. Handled quite well, but ultimately is quite annoying and stupid. Thank goodness Patricia Arquette changed her look since this movie!
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newtick8 October 2019I watched this in my Family Living class. Cinematic masterpiece! "No sex in the pool isn't proper birth control"
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thekidgonzalez24 February 2003I saw this movie in my Health class when we were learning about pregnancy. It was funny when the blonde one kept on whining "I want my chips!" I liked it when the dad said "it has fingers!" to the baby. This movie has some stupid characters that make you wanna laugh!