For Keeps | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | John G. Avildsen |
Produced by |
Jerry Belson Walter Coblenz |
Written by | Denise DeClue Tim Kazurinsky |
Starring | |
Music by | Bill Conti |
Cinematography | James Crabe |
Edited by | John G. Avildsen |
Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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98 min |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $17,514,554 (USA) |
For Keeps is a 1988 American coming of age comedy drama film starring Molly Ringwald and Randall Batinkoff as Darcy and Stan, two high school seniors in love. Complications ensue when Darcy becomes pregnant just before graduation and decides to keep her baby. This movie is noted for being Ringwald's final "teen" movie, and is cited as one of her most mature performances, particularly in a scene where Darcy is suffering from postpartum depression after the birth of her child. It has been regarded as one of Ringwald's best roles.
In Kenosha, Wisconsin, Darcy, editor at her high school paper, and her long-term boyfriend Stan are in their final year of high school and already have been accepted at good colleges; before Darcy goes to college to study journalism, she will go on a trip to Paris with her mother for her graduation present, while Stan will go to Caltech to study architecture. With the help of Darcy's best friend Lila, Darcy and Stan spend a weekend together, where they sleep together, and Darcy becomes pregnant. They announce the news at Thanksgiving, and neither Darcy's mother Donna, who was abandoned by her husband and brought up Darcy alone, nor Stan's Catholic parents are very supportive. Respectively, they urge the young couple to have an abortion or give up the baby for adoption. Darcy plans to have an abortion, but does not go through with it, much to Stan's relief.
At Christmas, the kids announce their plans to keep the baby, causing a break between them and their parents. They rent a decrepit apartment and get married to the cheers of their friends. At the urging of her high school guidance counselor, who explains that other girls will want to emulate her and become teenaged mothers themselves, Darcy drops out of high school but works toward her GED. Prom is interrupted by Darcy's water breaking; although baby Thea (short for Theodosia) is healthy, Darcy suffers from post-partum depression, unable to even hold her daughter, and Stan struggles to pay the bills on a part-time job salary. Only when Darcy hears an intruder (who turns out to be Stan's father) and picks up her baby protectively, does she break from her depression.