In an age where shmashmortion still dares not speak its name, a film devoted to a serious consideration of whether to terminate a pregnancy deserves credit, even if that film is pretty tiresome and displays the delicate touch of a sledgehammer on an old sidewalk. Kitson’s situation isn’t softened by easy outs. She has college plans and a passion for studying biographies; she also has a Catholic father and a boyfriend willing, after some prompting, to settle down with her and raise the baby. She latches onto Hopkins as an outsider who can offer a different perspective, but with his own life in shambles, he isn’t in the best position to give advice.
Lebanon may only be a two-hour drive from Philadelphia, but the cultural gap is considerably vaster. Lebanon, Pa. is at its weakest when consciously delineating that purple-state divide, which it does with a heavy hand and an over-reliance on easy stereotypes. The Lebanon radio only features religious programming, Christian music, and right-wing talk shows, but the town is also warm and family-oriented. Philly, on the other hand, is all gleaming condos and a life so cutthroat that Hopkins’ boss begrudges him just a few days off for his father’s funeral. Given the thoroughness with which Kitson’s dilemma is illustrated, it’s much harder to invest in Hopkins’ near-midlife crisis, which finds him romancing a local gal (Samantha Mathis) with an inconvenient husband and struggling to come to terms with his mother. It isn’t a terrible shock when life in Lebanon isn’t the solution to his problems, but the turns the film takes toward the end do offer a few surprises, particularly in the form of redemption for the waffling hero—not in running after the ones he loves, but in standing by them when they need him.
