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Unexpected-nf

This movie zeroes in on one aspect of human life that most people will eventually confront. In this case, it is the wonderful life changing experience of realizing that you (or your partner) has become pregnant.

Samantha (Cobie Smulders) is a 31-year old inner city high school teacher who has a loving, caring boyfriend (Anders Holm) who realizes that she is pregnant. Jasmine (Gail Bean) is a Black teenage girl who is one of her students who lives with her grandmother and sister in a poor neighborhood having an unstable relationship with her boyfriend but hoping to go to college next year. She also has become pregnant.

These two people bond and become very close. As we watch each of them contemplate how this seminal life event will change their lives, we are reminded how pregnancy impacts women quite differently than men and also affects single, more often minorities, and those with less financial means quite differently. Perhaps these observations should be quite obvious facts of our society, but yet our very bright young school teacher needed the nine-month gestation period to fully understand that. Similarly, this film directed by Chris Swanberg who co-wrote the screenplay with Megan Mercier allowed the viewers to fully appreciate these facts of life in about ninety minutes. (2015)

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The Intern -rm

Ann Hathaway plays Jules Ostin, a young attractive woman who is CEO of an Internet company that she founded from scratch that sells woman’s clothes that they guarantees they will fit. The company has blossomed to one that has more than 200 employees. The fearless leader is married to a modern bearded young man who gave up his successful job to stay at home and raise their delightful cute little girl. Robert Di Nero plays Ben Whittaker, a retired 70 year old widower, who had been a executive in a large company that sold and manufactured telephone books. Since his wife died he retired, has been looking for something to do and came across an ad for a internship program for senior citizen in the above described Internet company that was set up by one of the young executives who had the idea that maybe seniors might have some views to balance the point of view the young people running the Internet business. The Di Nero character gets assigned to the young woman CEO who seems too busy to even assign him a task as he patiently tries to find ways to be helpful. The story takes off from there.

While this could have been just a delightful comedy, it really became much more than that. The storyline examined the role of young women in today’s business world . Who should raise the children and don’t you really have to go all in if you are trying to make it in today’s competitive world with start up companies going boom or bust.? Also, is there a role for retired seniors in today’s business environment? Are they a resource that is forgotten and lost in the race to succeed?

The voice behind the production is Nancy Meyers, writer, director and frequently producer of many important movies that reflect the changing social times such as, Parent Trap, Somethings Gotta Give, Its Complicated, What Women Want. In this current film, the questions are raised but on one hand they aren’t very nuanced and yet the answers and conclusions are way too simple. However, when the stars and supporting cast which included Rene Russo, Adam DeVine, Zack Perlman, Anders Holm Nat Wolff, Linda Lavin and the little girl played by JoJo Kushner are all so superb, you can’t help having an enjoyable movie experience.(2015)