Lifetime Review: 'Pregnant at 17'

Things haven't been easy lately for 17-year-old Chelsea (Zoé De Grand Maison). Not only is she still coping with the loss of her mother, but she also recently witnessed a violent convenience store robbery and reported the culprit, Greg Foster (Rogan Christopher), to the police.

As a result, Greg's sister Laren (Corina Bizim) began harassing Chelsea at school, to the point where Chelsea dropped out of school and got work at an ice cream store to make ends meet—in the process befriending co-worker Adam Wilson (Jake Manley), who is also the grandson of the convenience store clerk Greg attacked and hospitalized.

On top of everything, Chelsea has just learned she is pregnant with the child of her lover, Jeff (Roark Critchlow). Jeff, unbeknownst to Chelsea, is also married to Sonia (Josie Bissett), their marriage having hit a rough patch after Sonia suffered a miscarriage.

As Jeff attempts to deal with Chelsea's pregnancy and keep his affair under wraps, Sonia begins to piece together her husband's treachery and finds out about Chelsea. Despite herself, Sonia finds herself sympathetic once she learns more about Chelsea and forges an unlikely friendship with the girl--just as Greg Foster is being released from prison, hellbent on getting even with the girl who put him in prison.

From its' beginning, Pregnant at 17 sets itself apart from other films in the "At 17" series and other Lifetime films in general. Despite a title that sounds reminiscent of Lifetime's films about teen pregnancy, Pregnant at 17 spins an entertaining yarn about a teen reeling from two tragedies becoming intertwined in the lives of a struggling couple trying to cope with their own personal tragedy.

The plots all intersect in a fairly believable way (albeit with some help from suspending disbelief), and it all comes together in a climax that delivers a satisfying conclusion to almost all of the plot points.

As is common for Christine Conradt's series, Pregnant at 17 also has a strong cast to build on this well-constructed plot. Zoé De Grand Maison makes for a likable protagonist, and her chemistry with Josie Bissett makes the relationship between their characters heartwarming and believable (even if you find it unbelievable that a woman would go out of her way to form a friendship with her husband's mistress).

Rogan Christopher and Corina Bizim also make for effective antagonists, with Christopher particularly making Greg Foster a truly sinister character, and Jake Manley forms real chemistry with Maison despite their characters' limited screen time together.

Roark Critchlow is where the cast's downfall lies, however, though not in part to Critchlow's acting quality itself. Rather, it's the fact that as Jeff, he's really not given much character to work with. His fairly significant character arc doesn't really go beyond being his infidelity, and his relationships with both Sonia and Chelsea (as well as his story arc overall) go unresolved by the film's end credits. Given that Critchlow has shown his acting chops in other projects, it's frustrating to see him get so shortchanged in Pregnant at 17.

On a whole, however, Pregnant at 17 proves to be another strong entry in the "At 17" saga, with a unique plot anchored down by strong characters and strong action, culminating in a satisfying climax. While it may not rise to the same levels as Fugitive or Murdered, Pregnant at 17 is definitely a solid thriller with a lot of heart and depth to back the drama up.

Score: 8 out of 10 "gelato bitches"

(And with that, I have caught up on all the At 17 films to date and am ready for Christine Conradt's latest tale of teenage drama: Zombie at 17!)