Elizabeth Banks Says '17 Again' Glamorizes Teen Pregnancy

Yes, movies aimed at teen audiences do have a responsibility to" include information that reflects real-life consequences of the actions depicted. " Making jokes is all well and good, but when it comes to something such as teen pregnancy, the glamorization is to no ones benefit and can be harmful. Hey, I mean, I thought Juno was a pretty good movie, specifically the characters that Jen Garner and Jason Bateman played, but the flippant, unemotive character of Juno herself was not something I'd want my kids to see. I mean, she just didn't seem to care about her pregnancy...until the end. She walked around on a high horse, demanding respect and telling anyone who didnt believe in her choice to go to hell. I'm not one for ostracizing pregnant teens, but they are certainly no heroes in my book. The parents in this movie were not treated very well, more like dumb, ignorant and clueless dweebs who couldn't possibly understand why Juno is just so darn alternative and therefore uber-cool. Whatever, man. Movies like these are the reason our teens continue to have babies at such a young age. I believe in freedom of expression and I believe in everyones right to make art, but if you speak about something as sensitive as teen pregnancy, then you should realize you have a responsibility to the youth you speak to. Tell whatever story you want, but be fair about the consequences. I've known too many Juno's in my high school days, and lemme tell ya. Not many were too proud to be walking around pregnant, watching everone else's lives go forward knowing theirs was slowing down a bit. Even the girls who stayed in school to full term, although determined and proud, still felt ostracized and left out. Lot's of counseling. Lots of parent problems. And lots of crying. Hollywood is being to lax about these issues. Many times these characters are written by people who were often ostracized themselves. It's too bad that they can only see one side and not all of them. You would think a writer could do that. Guess not.

Reply

Unfortunately, we have to take movies too seriously these days. Juno glorified teen pregnancy, as well as the Life of An American Teenager show ( I forgot the correct complete title). There are too many immature girls running around getting pregnant and boys not caring that they're getting these girls pregnant. So, you have all these precious little babies not receiving the proper parenting and caring they need. My family is going through this right now, so I'm seeing it first hand. Hollywood does need to think about this.

Reply

In response to the Juno thing.....You speak as if Juno's character was portrayed having gone through zero emotional growth from the beginning to the end of the film. Maybe the moral of her story wasn't that getting pregnant that young is dumb - sure would have made that an exhausting movie to watch given how early in the movie someone would be forced to say "It's a little late for that, dontcha think?"

Regarding 17 Again...

There is a good five minute scene dedicated to Zac Efron's character convincing an entire high school health class to abstain. Is it equally unlikely as teen parents living happily ever after? Probably, but it's still the flip side being promoted, explicitly. Almost as if to say THE POINT OF THIS MOVIE IS NOT THAT HAVING KIDS YOUNG IS SMART - KEEP LOOKING.

Not to mention a good chunk of the movie is Zac Efron's character trying to keep his daughter from making the same mistakes he has - not the least of which being having sex at such a young age when you don't yet know what it really means to be in love.

The point of the movie is ultimately that you cannot let past decisions destroy the rest of your life - whether that means "ABORT" or "F COLLEGE" is not explicitly stated.


Man, I'm glad I don't watch movies going "PSH! Well there's your FIRST mistake!"

No, teens should not get pregnant.

Scared, lost campers should not split up.

The good guy should not assume the bad guy is dead.

Don't instantly trust whatever cripple happens to be on screen.

But where the hell would the movie go if we didn't let these things happen? :)

Reply

I find it ironic that she wrote to the Huffington Post about a moral issue.

Reply

The whole point of the movie was showing what problems his choices had caused him! The character was was telling a whole class to wait for sex, he ddin't want his daughter to go down the same path, he couldn't get a promotion at his job (no education), and his marriage fell apart. That said, the characters did have a pregnancy to deal with. You can't turn your back on your responsibilities and they didn't. They did the best they could with what information they had at 17 years old. I don't think the movie glorifies teen pregnancy, it showed how hard everything was and that everything didn't run smoothly. Kuddos to them for also showing that sometimes it takes hard work to keep a family going, however it may have been formed. Too many people take the easy way out.

Reply

Elizabeth is obviously a little slow, or perhaps wasn't paying attention during the movie. There is a specific scene in "sex ed" class where Efron gets up and does a speech about waiting to have sex not only with someone you love but also, heck, waiting till marriage to have sex. He goes into great detail about sharing the birth of a child and how it feels as a parent and encouraging the class to wait to do that until your older and married. Then all the girls toss their free condoms back into the pile. I believe this is the exact SCENE she was looking for but obviously wasn't paying any attention during. I personally thought it was admirable to start the movie off as it did with Effron giving up his future to stand by his girlfriend's side. . .I think that's something that isn't being done anymore! If you're going to have sex there's always a chance that pregnancy can happen and so if you do it as a teen you're running that risk. If you DO get someone pregnant this movie at least shows that taking responsibility is a good thing!

Reply

Someone please explain to me what happens to the child the chick is pregnant with at the begining of the movie. It was 20 years ago so the child would now be 20. The couple has a 17 year old daughter and a 16? year old son. There is no mention of this child. I dont get it

Reply

To answer your questions...

No, movies do not have any responsibility to do anything. They are artistic creations devised to tell a story, no matter how horrible or awesome.

Some people choose to use storytelling as a method of teaching morality or providing useful life lessons for their listeners/viewers. Some choose to use it as raw entertainment. Others use it simply to express themselves or make a political or religious statement.

In short, trying to brow-beat writers, producers, and directors into always "educating" their target audience is BAD for film. The MPAA already doles out a rating, so, you needn't worry that the next Miley Cyrus movie will include a XXX scene aimed at your kids.

I watched 17 Again. It wasn't a terrible movie, but, concern that it glorifies teen pregnancy is ludicrous. So what if it did? It's a movie. It can glorify shooting someone in the face for "saying 'what' again." Did Tarantino teach the 20-something crowd that it's alright to shoot people if they misunderstand you?

http://www.judgex.com/

Reply

elizabeth banks should spend less time bitching and more time having sex with me.

17 again looks retarded. i'm really getting sick of that gay guy from the school musical movies

Reply

I saw this movie last week and thought the message was CLEAR especially when he told all those kids in sex ed they didn't know what love was to have sex with someone. Just to be Cool what a stupid risk. I wish I had insisted we use condoms more when at 19 yrs young I found out I was 3 months preggers. We are still together 29yrs later and she is 26yrs old now. Please kids think before you do it and always use protection there are so many kinds.
I thought Mathew Perry did a good job but I doubt he looked that good at 17. And it was very entertaining I'm glad Zach was such a joy to watch. What a talented young man I hope he stays grounded and keeps on the right track.

Reply

Let me get this staright! The main actress said this movie promotes teen sex? She did read the script and is going to get buckets of money from the Zach money train. So whats she complaining about she has done alot worse in her long carreer. We have all heard her potty mouth in several of her movies. She even kissed Zach in this movie! Her husbands movies are far worse with their Vulgarrity(Super Bad) Knocked Up! She was in this one. Talk about Hollywood Hypocrites.
anyway I liked it and hope you all see it and form your own opinions. Because Opinions are like Brains most people have them, sometimes they don't use them but we all have one.

Reply