''She's Too Young'' is an American-Canadian coproduced
made-for-TV movie
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...
released in 2004, starring
Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American actress. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards.
Harden's breakthrough came in 1990 with the Coen brothers' film '' Miller's ...
as the mother of a 14-year-old daughter who is involved in
sexual acts
Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) t ...
hidden from her parents. The film deals with the issues of drugs and alcohol, peer pressure, parenting an adolescent, the influence of the sexually-driven media, teen partying, and
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...
. The movie was shot in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
, with the school scenes being shot at
Halifax West High School
Halifax West High School is a Canadian public high school located in the Lacewood neighbourhood in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Encompassing grades 10 through 12, Halifax West High School offers a variety of courses in both ...
.
Though the film does not acknowledge this outwardly, the events of this film were partly inspired by a syphilis outbreak that occurred in a well-off suburb of
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
in 1996, where over 200 teenagers were exposed. The incident was chronicled in a ''
Frontline'' episode called "The Lost Children of Rockdale County".
Plot
The film showcases three 14-year-old girls: Dawn (
Miriam McDonald
Miriam Katherine McDonald (born July 26, 1987) is a Canadian actress best known for playing the lead role Emma Nelson on the Canadian television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''.
Career
McDonald focused on acting, playing a role in th ...
), Becca (
Megan Park
Megan Park (born July 24, 1986) is a Canadian actress and director. She is known for her portrayal of Grace Bowman in the television series ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager''. In 2021, Park made her feature directorial debut with '' ...
) and Hannah (
Alexis Dziena). Hannah soon finds herself on the receiving end of peer pressure from her friends to engage in
oral sex
Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth). Cunnilingus is oral sex performed on the vu ...
with Nick Hartman, a nice boy whom Hannah likes. She believes that she has to behave in a particular fashion in order to fit in with her more sexually-active peers. As Hannah becomes more sexually "advanced", she does not reveal her sexual encounters with Nick to her mother, who is concerned about Hannah. Hannah regards her mother's concern as being intrusive, knowing she would be shocked if she knew. When Hannah's best friend Dawn gets syphilis, the school nurses begin widespread testing. It soon becomes evident that the school is experiencing an epidemic. Although Nick is identified as the main spreader of the disease, he does not appreciate the serious nature of the issue and refuses to be tested, mocking those who undergo testing. Dawn reluctantly gets tested and discovers that she has contracted the disease. She realizes the consequences of her behavior and encourages her friends to get tested as well. Hannah notices a sore in her mouth one morning and decides to see the nurse, who tells Hannah that she is also infected. Thus, Hannah is forced to deal with the consequences of her actions. When Hannah's mother finds out about the syphilis spread, she launches an effort to alert parents about their children's dangerous behavior. Although she is certain that other parents will share her level of concern in helping their children, she is shocked by some of the parents' indifferent attitudes to their children's actions.
Meanwhile, Becca is outraged when her religious parents (who do not know about her sexual history) decide to send her to boarding school, and Hannah is alienated at school because of her mother. She leaves her house one night and goes to her friend Tommy's house. They both realize they like each other and make out. Hannah wants to have sex, but Tommy refuses, explaining that he likes her but wishes to wait, as they are too young. Hannah becomes even more emotionally distraught, thinking he is not interested because she has been called a 'slut' and runs off. When Hannah's parents return home and see that she is gone, her mother goes off to find her. Walking around by herself in the street, Hannah calls Dawn and Becca. Dawn is grounded and is not allowed to speak with Hannah, and Becca is making out in a car with two boys and does not hear her phone. Hannah goes to a party, where many of the kids from her school are present, looking for Becca. Brad, the party's host, directs Hannah to the basement, and when she realizes that Becca is not there, he attempts to have sex with her. She refuses, but he tries to
force her into it. Tommy barges into the room, takes a picture of Brad and threatens to send it to
9-1-1
911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...
. Brad leaves Hannah and ends the party. Tommy takes Hannah back to his house and calls her parents. They come to fetch her, relieved to see she is alright. Hannah apologizes to them and her mother promises that things will be better from now on. The end of the film shows Becca has snuck back into her room and begins to cry. Dawn is playing
Scrabble
''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a Board game, game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, re ...
with her mother as her sister, Tess, who is not playing, sneaks off to Dawn's room. In there, she picks up one of Dawn's "sexy" shirts, takes off her glasses and models in front of the mirror, implying she may try to be 'like Dawn'. At the end of the film, Alexis Dziena appears to give a
public service announcement
A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. Oftentimes these messages feature unsettling imagery, ideas or behaviors that are des ...
urging teens to wait to have sex because of both physical and emotional consequences.
Cast
*
Alexis Dziena as Hannah Vogul
*
Miriam McDonald
Miriam Katherine McDonald (born July 26, 1987) is a Canadian actress best known for playing the lead role Emma Nelson on the Canadian television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''.
Career
McDonald focused on acting, playing a role in th ...
as Dawn Gensler
*
Megan Park
Megan Park (born July 24, 1986) is a Canadian actress and director. She is known for her portrayal of Grace Bowman in the television series ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager''. In 2021, Park made her feature directorial debut with '' ...
as Becca White
*
Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American actress. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards.
Harden's breakthrough came in 1990 with the Coen brothers' film '' Miller's ...
as Trish Vogul
*
Gary Hudson as Bill Vogul
*
Mike Erwin
Mike Erwin (born August 31, 1978) sometimes credited as Michael Erwin, is an American actor. He is known for playing Colin Hart from 2002 to 2006 in the WB television series '' Everwood'' and for voicing Jak in the '' Jak and Daxter'' video gam ...
as Nick Hartman
*
Joe Dinicol
Joe Dinicol (born December 22, 1983) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his portrayal of Rory Regan / Ragman in a recurring role in the fifth season of ''Arrow''.
Life and career
Dinicol was born in Stratford, Ontario, the son of Emma () an ...
as Tommy
*
John White as Brad
*
Deborah Odell
Deborah Lee O'Dell is a Canadian actress and singer. She has appeared in various films and TV series.
Career
Deborah made her acting debut in the 1997 fantasy film '' A Simple Wish'', which featured Mara Wilson and Martin Short
Martin Hay ...
as Ginnie Gensler
*Rhonda McLean as Kathleen White
*Christine Dunsworth as Heather
*
Stan Carew as Principal Jessup
*
Mary-Colin Chisholm
Mary-Colin Chisholm is a Canadian actress, playwright, and co-assistant director of the theatre companies LunaSea Theatre and Frankie Productions.
Career
In 2000, Chisholm directed the theatrical piece called ''Frankie'', starring Mary Ellen Macle ...
as Nurse Johnson
Production
''She's Too Young'' was shot in
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
. The film's soundtrack, which included two different raunchy rap songs, was largely uncredited, although the main background score was created by composer
Mark Snow
Mark Snow (born Martin Fulterman; August 26, 1946) is an American composer for film and television. Among his most famous compositions is the theme music for science fiction television series '' The X-Files''.
''The X Files'' instrumental wa ...
. Cinematography was done by Bill Wong. Some iconic Nova Scotian buildings to appear in the film include
Halifax West High School
Halifax West High School is a Canadian public high school located in the Lacewood neighbourhood in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Encompassing grades 10 through 12, Halifax West High School offers a variety of courses in both ...
and The Stardust Motel.
Reception
''She's Too Young'' received largely mixed to negative reviews from critics. Upon its initial release, there was very little attention to the film, although ''The Movie Scene'' stated of it, "''She's Too Young'' tries to be a hip sex education movie not just for teenagers but also parents who are blinkered to their teenager's habits. But it tries to do too much, cover every possible angle and by doing so it comes across as forced, extreme and at times sadly corny." The film received mild renewed attention in the 2010s, due in part to a number of popular
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
influencers reviewing and mocking the film. In 2021, ''Wide Open Country'' noted that one of the main cast members for ''She's Too Young'', Megan Park, had since become a film director and credited her early roles in TV movies as part of her inspiration.
References
External links
*
{{Tom McLoughlin
2004 films
2004 television films
2000s teen drama films
American teen drama films
Films scored by Mark Snow
Films about syphilis
Films directed by Tom McLoughlin
Films shot in Nova Scotia
Lifetime (TV channel) films
2004 drama films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
Canadian teen drama films
American drama television films
Canadian drama television films
2000s Canadian films
English-language Canadian films