She's Having a Baby | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | John Hughes |
Produced by | John Hughes Bill Brown Ronald Colby |
Written by | John Hughes |
Starring | |
Music by | Stewart Copeland |
Cinematography | Donald Peterman |
Edited by | Alan Heim |
Production
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Hughes Entertainment
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Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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106 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $16 million (domestic) |
She's Having a Baby | |
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Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
Released | 1988 |
Genre | Rock, new wave |
Length | 37:10 |
Label | I.R.S. / MCA |
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic |
She's Having a Baby is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Hughes.
The film portrays a young newlywed couple, Kristy and Jake Briggs played by Elizabeth McGovern and Kevin Bacon, who try to cope with being married and what is expected of them by their parents. Jake must also deal with the fantasy woman of his dreams. The film is about traditional 1980s suburban life and the cultural expectations that come along with it. To a large extent what Jake experiences could be described as a form of culture shock, with his best man Davis (Alec Baldwin) as a reminder of his former culture as a single man, and feeling alienated when he overhears his neighbors converse about mundane suburban topics. He feels he has left the culture of single men, and has entered the culture of a married man, and doesn't appear to have a sense of belonging to either.
This film is an existential look at the lives of Jefferson (Jake) played by Kevin Bacon and Kristy Briggs, played by Elizabeth McGovern , from their wedding day until the birth of their first child. Beginning on their wedding day, it follows both their lives, but more so Jake's, with his voice-over commentaries and several imaginary scenes, based on actual or feared future events. Jake asks his best friend, Davis McDonald, played by Alec Baldwin before the wedding if he thinks he'll be happy, to which his friend says, "Yeah, you'll be happy. You just won't know it." And this is the underlying theme of the movie, Jake's existential crisis of, "Is this all there is? Is this really my life?"
After their wedding, Jake and Kristy head off for New Mexico, where Jake works towards gaining a Master's degree, but leaves before finishing, describing it as, "high school with ashtrays." They return to Chicago where Jake, by, "setting new records for lying in the job market," impresses his potential employers so much that they give him work as an advertising copywriter. Jake wants to be a writer and tells his bosses that, which amuses and threatens one boss, who himself had failed at ever writing a book. Kristy also gains work as a research analyst, and they are able to buy a "three-bedroom mortgage" in the suburbs. Jake's best friend suddenly visits after not seeing him for two years, which causes the two to both envy one another's lives, and to also reaffirm their own. Jake begins fantasizing about having an affair with a mysterious young French Model, who is wise beyond Jake's years.