Alternative Character Interpretation: Is Darcy’s mom really a selfish, clingy, controlling woman who cares more about going to Paris than her daughter’s pregnancy and eventual grandchild? Or is she someone who loves her daughter dearly and doesn’t want to see her daughter face the same struggles that she faced as a single mom (hence why she is so distrusting of Stan, since she seems to project a lot of her ex-husband’s negative traits on him)?
Anvilicious: We get it, Molly. Teen pregnancy is rough. The film novelization is even more so. Darcy chastises her best friend Lila for not only having sex in Darcy’s apartment (while Thea was napping mind you!), but also not using contraception considering they could be easily accessed in the cabinet, as she didn't want Lila to become a teen mom like her. Furthermore, when Stan asks Darcy if they're ever going to have sex again, after Thea was born, Darcy tells him that if they do, they're going to use protection and the two rush out to the store to get contraception.
Broken Base: It remains a controversial and divisive movie among Molly Ringwald's fanbase, with three main camps of opinion: those who legitimately enjoy the film, and consider it one of Ringwald's best performances; those who see it as the moment her career completely derailed; and finally, people who enjoy it for what a spectacular melodramatic mess it is, like The Room.
Critical Dissonance: While critically eviscerated and considered by many to be Molly Ringwald's Star-Derailing Role, the film's audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes is considerably higher (71%, compared to a 17% critic score), and it made back its budget.
Cult Classic: The film has an audience, especially among some Molly Ringwald fans, but most likely for reasons contrary to what she, John G. Avildsen, and the screenwriters intended.
Ensemble Dark Horse: Mr. Bobrucz, Stan's father who's played by veteran actor and voice actor Kenneth Mars, is well-liked for being a Large Ham and providing much of the film's humor.
Esoteric Happy Ending: Even with support from their parents and the fact that they clearly love each other, the odds are still very much stacked against Stan and Darcy, as teen marriage and parenthood is difficult in and of itself, they've still will have money problems even with both working and as admirable it is that the two are going to college, juggling all of the above will be an arduous task.
Also, later in Molly Ringwald’s career, Molly would move to Paris, France, and during those few years living there, even appeared in a few French films.note Prior to For Keeps, she had attended the prestigious “Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles” (or “The French High School of Los Angeles”), so even then, Molly was fairly fluent in French.
Mainstream Obscurity: It's known to many as "the Molly Ringwald teen pregnancy movie".
The scene where Darcy sees Stan's dad standing outside of the apartment at night plays out like something out of a horror movie, complete with eerie music. The fact that her postpartum depression is instantly cured doesn't help matters.
Narm Charm: More forgiving viewers will admit that, in spite of its many moments of unintentional silliness, it's still watchable.
Retroactive Recognition: Pauly Shore as Retro, one of Stan's best friends who theorizes that Darcy's post-partum depression is the result of oxygen deprivation in the brain during delivery.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Many, including Ringwald herself, felt that the subject matter wasn't handled as well as it should've been, and that's putting it mildly.
