THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER: VOLUME FIVE
(not rated)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
I have never said that the series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” is a purely realistic show, but it does deal with realistic issues. One of the things that I have commended it for over the years is that it targets real emotions and feelings in the younger generation but doesn’t sugar-coat things. It does come across as trite and often overly dramatic. The writing isn’t terribly strong, but if you go with it, the show will take you places. Volume Five of the DVD continues with this, offering directions for some of the characters that you don’t often see in stories of teenage pregnancies. This string of episodes finds another pregnancy as well as some of the would-be fathers trying to grow up and get a job. It’s a fair continuation of the series and lets the drama sail.
The DVD set comes with four behind-the-scenes featurettes: “On Set with Director Anson Williams” (that’s Potsy from “Happy Days,” people, so it takes that into perspective), “On Set Fist Bumps with Joey and Matthew,” “On Set with Shailene” and “On Set with Luke”