Secret Life of the American Teenager: Volume Four – DVD Review

For whatever bass-akwards reason, society today is obsessed with the concept of teen pregnancy.  Hell, MTV has made as much money of guilty and regretful teen moms as it has off Jersey shore guidos, I’m willing to bet!  ABC is apparently cashing in with their teen drama, Secret Life of the American Teenager.  The show is releasing it’s fourth volume of DvDs featuring the final twelve episodes of Season 2.

I watched Season 1 of this show pretty religiously for the first half, but as the show developed, it got dumb and dumber, so I sort of gave up on it.  I’ve seen one or two episodes from the first half of Season 1, but here I am watching the second half of the second season and thinking, “whyyyyy?!”

Volume 4 picks up with Amy and her mother, Anne, running off with their sons leaving Ashley and George to bond, Ricky to consider seeking a more legal method of seeing his son, and Ben having plenty of time to spend with his new Italian girlfriend.

I really don’t understand this show.  I see it’s appeal with all the crazy webs of drama; I mean, I’m a sucker for a good teen drama, but this show is too over-the-top, even for me.  Like, why won’t Adrienne have sex with Ricky when she’s slept with every other guy within a fifty mile radius?  Oh, yeh, because, at sixteen, she already has trust issues from having sex with so many people!  Gross!  Amy acts like a child, but she has a child of her own.  She tells everyone she has a new boyfriend, but little do they know she is making stories up about a guy she met once because she is scared Ben MAY break up with her.  In one day, six of the lead characters all switch partners.  Again, gross!  And you can’t blame the kids for their behavior because who are they supposed to look up to?  Their parents?  Ha!

In a nutshell, this show is what’s wrong with this world!  It’s scripted like a children’s show with over-the-top acting and jumping too quickly from one story line to the next to keep the attention of the five-year old viewers, but it features adult content and makes sex seem like such a light-hearted topic.

While I’m currently totally ripping this show a new rear-end, there is one thing I thoroughly enjoy about this show!  Ashley and her new boyfriend, Grant, are the cutest , sweetest, funniest thing ever!  Unfortunately, things don’t happen for them until five episodes in.

If you do happen to like the show, then you’ll love the DvDs.  They have some cute bonus features!  Allen Evangelista and Amy Rider (hot couple, Henry and Alice) have a two-part interview which is good, and then my new crush, Daren Kagasoff (Ricky) talks about shootin’ hoops with his best friends, his brother and Greg Finley (Jack), as well as how important his family is to him.  Finally, Megan Park (Grace) does the cutest, funniest little schpill about working in America as a Canadian.  Also included is a short segment on the musical scoring of Secret Life and interviews with the cast on ABC Family’s “new kind of family.”

The entire time I watch The Secret Life of the American Teenager, I think about the middle school kids I babysit and teach religion to who are obsessed with this show and the messages it puts into their head.  At the end of the day, I hope it at least serves the purpose of making all my favorite kids realize having a baby before you’re ready is not all that easy.  I guess the quote that sums it up so nicely is this:  “Isn’t this nice?  Just having a conversation about masterbation like two normal people?”

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Hilary Soileau

I'm a high school student with very undecided plans for the future. I've been told my brother and I fight just like you and yours, but we use big words. I sing all the background music in the movies--yes, I am that obnoxious movie-goer sitting right in front of you all the time. I don't get the super hype about Superbad, but I still think Michael Cera is a stud. On that note, I'm the least smooth individual ever. Actually, that is an understatement. I'm a nerd with a terrible sense of humor. I love procrastination, independence, accents, sarcasm, traveling, laughing, and picking a soundtrack to every little moment of life. I got involved with Killer Film completely by accident, but it makes perfect sense because I have always been fascinated by all aspects of the entertainment industry and I love to write.

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