Unexpected (2015)

Better Late Then Never

best movie i've ever seen.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I won't recap the plot, since other reviewers have done this in fine detail. This is a gentle story about two pregnant women--one an adult with a career and a stable future, the other a teenager with no certainty--who bond over pregnancy. It works hard to avoid the "rescuing white lady" cliché, and find another narrative, and that was a strength of the movie, and also a weakness.The filmmaker explores a mother's need to nurture the baby against the desire for a life and identity of her own. She also explores the lost opportunities that pregnancy brings to both women.However, I was less satisfied with her conclusions. Coming down on the side of the stay-at-home mom was too pat. Of course many women want to stay with their babies, and if given the choice would be there for the early months at least (although not all women feel this way).At one point the two women have an argument with one asking the other, "Would you leave your baby?", ignoring the fact that almost all working women around the world, and certainly single mothers, do just that. That's especially true if they want or need to earn well. I think it must be easier to romanticize this if you work in a flexible profession like the arts.In the case of Jasmine specifically, the choices the filmmaker has her make are choices that doom her and her baby to a significantly limited future. In the case of Samantha, although she did miss her chance at a dream job, one missed chance for a well educated, young, upper middle class woman won't seal her fate. The movie's message is that Jasmine shouldn't sacrifice time with her baby, and having an extended family will make it all OK in the end. Yet an earlier scene shows that her family can't get through the month on the food stamps they have. Raising a child is expensive. Giving him/her a good future and education is even more so.Sacrifice is sometimes necessary to improve life for the next generation. In this case maybe it means Jasmine leaving the baby with family for a time while she pursues her education and a better future for them all.

I'm surprised at the 5.5 rating for this film, as I found it to be filled with razor sharp dialogue that rang true to life, laced with humor but also raised some serious social issues, mainly the conflict families face with a newborn when they don't have long term maternity leave available.The most talented actress Cobie Smulders is excellent here as Samantha, a high school science teacher, in Chicago, who's working for a school scheduled to close at the end of the semester. She's been in a long term relationship with John (Anders Holm), when she unexpectedly discovers she's pregnant. They decide to quickly marry at the local courthouse, and you can see they have indeed a loving relationship.At the same time, one of Samantha's senior students, Jasmine, superbly portrayed by Gail Bean (an actress to watch in the future), finds out she's pregnant as well. This will subsequently bring Samantha and Jasmine closer together, and Samantha will try to help her student apply for college and hopefully build a more solid future.Initially, I thought things in the movie were perhaps too sugary sweet, but as it progressed there were conflicts that arose, and it all came down to a most poignant ending, in my opinion.All in all, I found this to be an exceptional indie, filled with most solid performances, good direction from Kris Swanberg, who also wrote the true-to-life script with Megan Mercier. It also raised some important social issues as well, without being too preachy.

As a twice married, still fairly young man with three children whom were made very much on purpose - this film annoyed me by its naive: "Duh, how did I get pregnant?" tone. "Unexpected" pregnancies are probably the only subject I will sign up to a website for just for the purpose of commenting. Please publish my review of the main theme of the film, it is so important that the simple message I will put across is understood by younger people as it seems sex education is failing if this film is anything to go by. This film is misleading about "how" people get pregnant.There is a line at 17:58 that made my face contort like I'd just eaten a lemon and I began to fizzle and pop. On hearing about a student's pregnancy a teacher says: "I just don't understand how these girls get themselves into these situations? It's like they want to get pregnant."She doesn't understand? Wow. The main character didn't seem to understand either and seems genuinely surprised that she is pregnant.In her mid-30's, she's only been having periods for at least the last twenty years of her life and should by now have some clue as to what causes pregnancies. The answer is "boys/men". There is no such thing as an "accident". Too much emphasis is placed on condoms preventing pregnancy. A condom's main function is to guard against disease passed on through blood which you should absolutely use if you are unsure about a partner's sexual past or have only just met. The "didn't have a condom" excuse is not an excuse. If you are in a long term relationship and it is quite obvious they don't have any infections, even if a condom is not available, there is still no reason at all for a girl to become pregnant. Pre-ejaculate does not contain sperm - it is nearly the same as the fluid secreted by a females Skene's glands when she is aroused. To get pregnant, a woman has only about a 24-hour window of opportunity in the month! You count 14 days from the FIRST DAY of a girl's LAST period. That is the time an egg is there waiting to be fertilized. That seems incredible that so many "accidents" occur. It isn't. Young people are seeing each other very often and quite quickly! That means a near-constant supply of semen against the cervix (opening to the womb). As sperm can live a few days, just so easy!. What needs to be hammered into people's minds (and the main character in this film apparently), is to NOT allow the male partner to ejaculate inside the vagina. If you are going to have sex, boys please know you must finish "outside" and girls, for goodness sake don't allow him to ejaculate inside. It is YOUR body and your right to demand he doesn't. The hundreds of times I had sex with my first wife and second wife I always used this simple method and NEVER ONCE did we have any scares. The times I made my gorgeous three kids was with permission and mutual consent and we became pregnant and it was a joy! Follow this simple rule and you can enjoy a full sex life but remain in education/work, without needing to go to the school toilet and sit on it and act "surprised" and say the F-word. ;-)

Unexpected is a simple but powerful movie about the nature of female friendships, the dynamic of teacher and student relationships and how the same experience can be starkly different for women at two ends of the economic spectrum.Sam (Cobie Smulders) is a high school science teacher at an inner city school in Chicago that is in it's final semester before closing. As a result, Sam is looking to switch gears in her career but is thrown off course when she finds out she is pregnant. Soon after, one of her students, Jasmine (Gail Bean), also becomes pregnant, and the two develop an unlikely bond as they deal with this new stage of life together.Sam decides that it is her personal mission to help Jasmine get into a good college, despite her pregnancy. It's an easy chemistry between the two, but underneath you can feel the tension as Jasmine realizes she may not want to sacrifice time with her child to go to a four year school. Sam loses herself in trying to help and push Jasmine to be her best, and is so focused on that, that she is not getting her own life and mind ready for her personal foray into motherhood. This soon starts affecting her marriage, her relationship with her mother (Elizabeth McGovern), and her professional life.Smulders is perfect as Sam. Being pregnant herself during the shooting of the film, all of her insecurities about being a mother and bringing a life into this world while also striving to keep one's personal professional identity is portrayed wonderfully. Newcomer Gail Bean steals the show as the whip smart teen, Jasmine. Bean plays Jasmine with a beautiful strength and wisdom beyond her years, but she is also just a kid who is vulnerable and unsure of her next steps. Bean is a talent to watch, and here is hoping Hollywood will pay the proper attention.Unexpected is the rocky start to a beautiful friendship. Through their different situations and through their friendship, these two women find themselves wanting very different but equally good things for their babies. A delicate balance of understanding must be made for two such different people to be able to support each other in the ways they need.