DVD Review: The Secret Life Of The American Teenager

The series boasts an incredible cast of characters played by Shailene Woodley (“The O.C.”) as Amy, Molly Ringwald (“The Breakfast Club”) as Anne, Mark Derwin (“The Bonnie Hunt Show”) as George, newcomer India Eisley as Ashley, Kenny Baumann (“Eli Stone”) as Ben, newcomer Daren Kagasoff as Ricky, Francia Raisa (“Cutting Edge 3”) as Adrian, Megan Park (“Life with Derek”) as Grace, Greg Finley (“Cold Case”) as Jack and Jorge-Luis Pallo (“Navy NCIS”) as Mark. John Schneider (“Smallville”) as Marshall and Josie Bissett (“Melrose Place”) as Kathleen will also guest star.

As the creator of the longest running family drama, Hampton brings an honest and relatable voice to the issues that teens and their parents face every day across America. Within the series, the family unit is represented in several forms – from the typical family of four – both functioning and dysfunctional – to a single parent home and a teen in foster care. Additionally, the teen viewpoint is also represented from a diverse group of characters.

But in every high school, there runs a common thread of self expression and discovery as every teen begins to make their own decisions. In the process, they will learn to face both the rewards and the consequences. This bold new drama tells the story of one American teenager and her journey though an unexpected pregnancy — a journey that clearly affects everyone around her.

Review:
From the creators of 7th Heaven comes a new drama that focuses on the secret life of the American teenager. Relationships between friends and families are challenging enough when you’re going through those teenage years, but what happens when you add pregnancy into the mix. Amy is about to find out as a mistake made at camp will ultimately change her life forever.

Some may recognize Shailene Woodley as the original Kaitlin Cooper from the popular series, The OC. Woodley does a wonderful job as Amy, and she really makes you feel for the position that her character is in. She’s a good kid in a bad situation. Molly Ringwald also stars alongside John Schneider which provides for a star-studded round off to a talented cast. I was also impressed by Kenny Baumann who plays Ben. There’s something so innocent and refreshing about his character. He has a hint of awkwardness to him which I believe is more realistic than so many of the actors that we see playing high school students these days. He’s the guy that you ultimately want to get the girl, because you know, that despite the fact he talks about sex more than a fair amount, he’s still a good guy at heart which is more than you can say for Ricky, the other guy who has been involved with Amy. We also have to give a mention to Francia Raisa since we host her official forum here at FanBolt. She does a wonderful job as Adrian, the girl who’s trying to woo the fellow student who got Amy in her current situation.

I have one minor bone to pick though, the dance scene seemed lacking to me at several points. When we see Alice and Henry dancing together, their movements don’t match up to the music at all, which one could easily write off to those awkward teenager years if Alice wasn’t so into it. You can also hear their moments over the ever-so-soft music in the background. This was the only area of the premiere that I found myself truly doubting the series in comparison to reality.

I’m definitely interested to see how this series plays itself out. Word has it that Amy will still be early on in the pregnancy at the end of the 10 episode run of the first season. I’m not too sure how the series will progress after the pregnancy, but I definitely see potential there. Teen dramas have been done a thousand times before, yet this one has something that is fresh and entertaining. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Review by Emma Loggins

Grade: B+
Official site: http://abcfamily.go.com/abcfamily/path/section_Shows+Secret-Life-Of-The-American-Teenager/page_Detail
Buy on Amazon: The Secret Life Of The American Teenager