"THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER: SEASON TWO"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Daren Kagasoff as RICKY Ken Baumann as BEN BOYKEWICH Shailene Woodley as AMY JUERGENS Amy Rider as ALICE VALKO Molly Ringwald as ANNE JUERGENS Mark Derwin as GEORGE JUERGENS Allen Evangelista as HENRY MILLER India Eisley as ASHLEY JUERGENS Megan Park as GRACE BOWMAN Francia Raisa as ADRIAN LEE Not Rated Studio: ABC Family Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The ABC Family drama “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” continues into its second season dealing with the interpersonal fall-out of Amy Juergens (Shailene Woodley) and her pregnancy. Amy and boyfriend Ben Boykewich (Ken Baumann) run off to get married in the wake of her parents’ separation. Ricky (Daren Kagasoff), the biological father of Amy’s baby, struggles with his abusive family history and his unhealthy view of sex. And slutty Adrian (Fancia Raisa) is trying to find herself outside of her overly active teenage sex life.
WHAT I LIKED
I will admit that this show has grown on me a bit. Sure, the characters are still a bit two dimensional, but the series has handled the political correct bear trap of teen pregnancy pretty well. More focus has been put on the pregnancy than last year, which dealt with more teen drama before Amy started to show. Now that the baby is on its way and Amy’s as big as a house, the elephant in the room cannot be ignored.
What is refreshing about this show is that it doesn’t glorify the teen pregnancy issue. It also doesn’t get preachy and shake its finger at society and the audience. Instead, it presents the many complications of teen pregnancy in a very matter-of-fact manner. Amy has to deal with weighty decisions, like getting a job and dealing with doctors. She’s not given the easy out by her family with them promising to take care of the baby, gratis. It’s clear that this has changed Amy’s life, and I think that goes a long way to showing the teen audience that there are real consequences of having a baby at this age.
There are many moments in the second season of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” when I did get annoyed with the characters, Amy in particular. I found myself thinking that she’s immature and whiney. Then I realized that the character is a fifteen-year-old girl, who as a group, have a corner on the immature and whiney market. So while the characters can be a bit abrasive at times, this is all in the context of realism.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
A lot of the things I didn’t like about season one have been tempered in this new season. There’s less awkward moments with writers trying to provide convincing dialogue and stories for the overtly Christian characters. There’s also more focus on the teenagers, who have the more convincing storylines and dialogue.
This show still suffers from poor writing for the adult characters. Ben’s father comes off rather well, but Amy’s parents (played by Molly Ringwald and Mark Derwin) still feel like they were written for bad community theaters. And it doesn’t help the case that Mark Derwin can’t deliver his substandard dialogue to save his life.
DVD FEATURES
The bonus material is a bit thin, though not non-existence, and there is more than we had on the first season’s three-disc set.
The Strange Familiar provides a music video of “Secret Life (You and Me),” and there’s a featurette on the cast talking about the characters. Additionally, there’s a series of personal video interviews with the different cast members talking about their experiences on the show.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Teenagers, tweens and anyone who loves high school drama.
