Yes, Mom A Sixteen is one of the many "teen girl gives birth" made-for-TV-movies (there do seem to be quite a few of them). And there are a few loose ends and plot weirdnesses, and the ending is completely predictable, but I still found it enjoyable. I may be losing my mind.
The story focuses on two families. Donna, a school counselor, and her husband, also a teacher at the high school, have been trying to get pregnant for ages. They even went the adoption route, but they were discouraged when the mother of the baby they were going to adopt changed her mind at the last minute. Jacey, age sixteen, gave birth a few months ago to a boy, Charlie, and Jacey was supposed to give the baby up for adoption, but changed her mind at the last minute. At her daughter's pleading, Jacey's mother agreed to raise the child as her own. However, this new addition has really upset their lives. Jacey's father left the family. The younger sister is being ignored. Jacey doesn't really take any responsibility for the baby. And mom? She's just plain worn out and crabby.
So Jacey begins attending this new school, where she meets Donna the school counselor and has some encounters with her. And this high school? It's insane. Half the movie is spent showing us how all the girls wear halter tops and how kids are having sex in the school bathrooms and on and on and on. There's the whole "wait for sex" message strewn throughout. It's like one big PSA. I found it amusing.
Jacey is unhappy. She's abusing pills. We find out she's unhappy because she doesn't like lying about the fact that she had a baby. Oh, and she misses her boyfriend, who still lives in the city where Jacey used to live. Eventually Jacey tells the guy he's a daddy, and he flips out. Good times.
Meanwhile, Donna has discovered that the baby is Jacey's. And Jacey has accidentally found out that Donna's trying to get pregnant. (She walks in on Donna giving herself some kind of fertility shots or something.)
Jacey joins a group for teen moms and meets a lot of other girls in her situation -- but their stories are all very different. Many weren't as fortunate as Jacey; some had parents who kicked them out of the house when they found out their daughter was pregnant. One of the girls tells Jacey about open adoption, and what that entails.
So now the people watching this movie are all going, Ohhh... Jacey's going to give her baby to Donna, isn't she? Duh. Of course. Jacey gives up the baby because she loves him and believes it's the right thing to do, and Donna and her husband and thrilled. So the ending's sappy/happy, especially when they give us a glimpse a few years into the future to see how Charlie is doing with his new family.
And I cried because I am officially a sentimental nutcase.
