In the flavor of Never Too Late, Cloris Leachman stars as a forty-year-old woman who finds out she's pregnant for the first time. She and her husband, Martin Balsam, had tried for children early on in their marriage, but they never conceived. After eighteen years, they have become set in their ways. They have risen high in their careers, lived in a singles-only high-rise apartment, and grown used to living for themselves from day to day. The pregnancy was an accident, and Cloris isn't sure she's ready for a brand new life.
This movie has a definite message to it, and I would argue that Jerome Kass's teleplay was deliberately manipulative. When Cloris speaks to a doctor about potentially getting an abortion, he explains that he'll do the operation should she decide she wants it. He's absolutely pro-choice for women who feel that's best for their lifestyle, "but I don't think you're one of those women," he says. Cloris seeks advice from several others, including close friend Marge Redmond, her mother Mildred Dunnock, and her boss Wilfrid Hyde-White. Everyone either advises her to have the baby, or talks about how awful motherhood is that via reverse-psychology, she thinks they're wrong and terrible people. Like I said, this is definitely an anti-abortion movie. Plus, Martin is gung-ho about being a father; it's very cute. Is she really going to go against her husband?
If you can get over the "pro-choice in theory, but not in my backyard" theme, this is a very sweet movie. Cloris and Martin have a cute chemistry together, and there's one particular scene (no spoilers here) towards the end that is so touching, it brought a lump to my cynical throat.
This movie has a definite message to it, and I would argue that Jerome Kass's teleplay was deliberately manipulative. When Cloris speaks to a doctor about potentially getting an abortion, he explains that he'll do the operation should she decide she wants it. He's absolutely pro-choice for women who feel that's best for their lifestyle, "but I don't think you're one of those women," he says. Cloris seeks advice from several others, including close friend Marge Redmond, her mother Mildred Dunnock, and her boss Wilfrid Hyde-White. Everyone either advises her to have the baby, or talks about how awful motherhood is that via reverse-psychology, she thinks they're wrong and terrible people. Like I said, this is definitely an anti-abortion movie. Plus, Martin is gung-ho about being a father; it's very cute. Is she really going to go against her husband?
If you can get over the "pro-choice in theory, but not in my backyard" theme, this is a very sweet movie. Cloris and Martin have a cute chemistry together, and there's one particular scene (no spoilers here) towards the end that is so touching, it brought a lump to my cynical throat.