She's Having a Baby (1988)

Director:

John Hughes

Writer:

John Hughes (written by)

Release Date:

5 February 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A comedy about the labours of love

Plot:

Jake and Kristy Briggs are newlyweds. Being young, they are perhaps a bit unprepared for the full reality...

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Marriage | Male Female Relationship | Father's Perspective | Cynicism

Cast

Kevin Bacon	...	Jefferson 'Jake' Edward Briggs
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Kristen 'Kristy' Briggs
Alec Baldwin	...	Davis McDonald
William Windom	...	Russ Bainbridge
Holland Taylor	...	Sarah Briggs
Cathryn Damon	...	Gayle Bainbridge
John Ashton	...	Ken
James Ray	...	Jim Briggs
Dennis Dugan	...	Bill
Larry Hankin	...	Hank
Nancy Lenehan	...	Cynthia
Isabel García Lorca	...	Fantasy Girl
Reba McKinney	...	Grandmother
Bill Erwin	...	Grandfather
Anthony Mockus Sr.	...	Minister

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

56 Salem Lane, Skokie, Illinois, USA

Company:

Hughes Entertainment

Trivia:

This movie was filmed at the same time as Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), which was written and directed by John Hughes and The Great Outdoors (1988) which was written by him. Some of the same cast members from both films appear in this film.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Jake kisses his wife goodbye, comes down the sidewalk, stumbles, and falls, a blue pad to protect his knees is clearly visible on the sidewalk.

Quotes:

[Jake's job interview]
Howard: How do you feel about slave wages?
Jefferson "Jake" Edward Briggs: Slave wages are okay.
Russ Bainbridge: How do you feel about alcoholics?
Jefferson "Jake" Edward Briggs: Um, I like alcoholics?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Reba: He's Having a Baby (#1.17)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

APRON STRINGS

An absolute gem of a film.

I would go on record to say that John Hughes' "She's Having A Baby" is by far the best film he's ever done -- and this from the man responsible for those giddy teen comedies from the '80's (i.e. BREAKFAST CLUB, SIXTEEN CANDLES, FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF).

It's ironic that his best work would be about grownups, or in this case, growing up. Jake and Kristi (played superbly by Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern), are indeed, your average married couple going through the same problems most married people do, and most kids their age would be sidestepping. But Hughes adds more dimension and more insight, and in spite of the laughs (which there are, by the way) and even some silly sequences,he still wrings out an air of truth.

Sadly, this film flopped at the B.O. in it's initial release back in 1988, but then why carp about performance. "SHAB" is a quiet gem of a film to be appreciated by the few that appreciate good filmmaking.

Grade: A-