# Books or movies about people who suddenly become parents **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2014, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497 "2014-10-25T15:07:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/21 "2014-10-25T22:13:02Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > Done with a nasty twist in [Very Bad Things](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124198/). > > Hours before their wedding, Kyle and Laura learn that they’ve been named in the will of another couple, both of whom were killed days earlier in an escalating series of revenge-murders. They’ve inherited custody of the couple’s two bratty children but, thanks to poor financial planning, almost no money to raise them. Shortly after the wedding, Kyle and his best friend are permanently disabled in a car crash, leaving Laura to look after both them and the brats for the rest of her life. My gawd, did a bunch of film execs get stoned together, and decide to play “Who can come up with the worst movie premise?” Laura needs a really good lawyer: just because you are named as a child’s guardian does not mean that you must take them, and you are allowed to divorce someone who needs more care than you can give. It may sound shitty, but sometimes it’s the only practical solution for couples who were dependent on the insurance of the now-disabled partner. Sometimes if they divorce, the disabled person can get better disability benefits, and medicaid until medicare kicks in. And then, if this happens right after the wedding, and the non-disabled person wants to bail, yeah, crappy, but the person has that right. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/22 "2014-10-25T22:33:00Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > My gawd, did a bunch of film execs get stoned together, and decide to play “Who can come up with the worst movie premise?” > > Laura needs a really good lawyer: just because you are named as a child’s guardian does not mean that you must take them, and you are allowed to divorce someone who needs more care than you can give. It may sound shitty, but sometimes it’s the only practical solution for couples who were dependent on the insurance of the now-disabled partner. Sometimes if they divorce, the disabled person can get better disability benefits, and medicaid until medicare kicks in. And then, if this happens right after the wedding, and the non-disabled person wants to bail, yeah, crappy, but the person has that right. Good points - though I left out the part where Laura bludgeons Kyle’s other friend to death several minutes before the wedding to keep him from murdering Kyle over the insurance money. Now that she and Kyle share this secret, it’s implied, she can’t just divorce and abandon him - otherwise, he’ll seek revenge by ratting her out. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/23 "2014-10-25T22:39:33Z")
Wasn’t that kind of what _The Odd Life of Timothy Green_ was about? Some infertile parents being rejected for adoption bury a box detailing all the traits they want in a child. The child literally grows like a plant into a young boy and teaches them a lesson about parenting, then disappears. They’re inspired to retry adoption and finally get a real kid in their care. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/24 "2014-10-25T23:14:56Z")
_Uncle Buck_ has this premise, though it’s short-term only. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/25 "2014-10-25T23:52:15Z")
How about the Canadian film _[Starbuck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starbuck_%28film%29)_? A forty-something man learns that the sperm donations he made as a young man resulted in 533 children, 142 of whom have sued to learn his identity. All of the ones we meet are young adults. (There’s an American remake, called _Delivery Man_, and starring Vince Vaughn. Like most remakes, it’s not as good.) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/26 "2014-10-26T00:43:04Z")
I think George Eliot’s novel _Silas Marner_ counts, as would the Steve Martin film _A Simple Twist of Fate_, which is based on it, though I haven’t seen it. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/27 "2014-10-26T02:18:30Z")
Oh, another would be Kinsey Millhone’s Aunt Gin from Sue Grafton’s alphabet series. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/28 "2014-10-26T02:40:40Z")
[No Reservations](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481141/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_12) with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Abigail Breslin. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/29 "2014-10-26T03:00:21Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I think George Eliot’s novel _Silas Marner_ counts, as would the Steve Martin film _A Simple Twist of Fate_, which is based on it, though I haven’t seen it. I think _Silas Marner_ counts, but it does involve the adoption of an infant. The parental figure, however, is this awkward bachelor whose only concept of being responsible for a child was having a little sister. Btw, what is it with George Eliot and big brother/little sister dynamics? Eleanor H. Porter’s _Pollyanna_ might count. It’s basically the extended family member must suddenly take care of a child that they weren’t planning to idea. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/30 "2014-10-26T03:05:01Z")
Oh, and how about [Annie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083564/)? Whichever version floats your boat, I lost track of how many times they’ve remade this. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/31 "2014-10-26T03:32:38Z")
\*\*Ally McBeal \*\*and **The X-Files**. Ally and Scully find out rather unexpectedly that they each have a daughter that they didn’t know about. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/32 "2014-10-26T03:57:17Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Oh, and how about [Annie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083564/)? Whichever version floats your boat, I lost track of how many times they’ve remade this. There’s another remake of it being released in December. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/33 "2014-10-26T04:49:42Z")
Chaplin’s The Kid, and in the realm of comic strips, Popeye and Swee’pea in Thimble Theater, and Uncle Walt and Skezzix in Gasoline Alley. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/34 "2014-10-26T04:50:41Z")
Eric Segal wrote a novel, _Man, Woman, and Child_, which dealt with a couple finding out that the man had an illegitimate child because of a dalliance in France. The child’s mother died, leaving Dad in custody. This was made into a movie back in 1983 starring Blythe Danner and Martin Sheen. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/35 "2014-10-26T06:22:42Z")
It’s incredibly common. Just from among the movies I’ve seen in the last three or four years… _Leon: The Professional_ _Les Miserables_ _Tom Jones_ _The Kid_ (Charlie Chaplin) _Anthony Adverse_ _Wuthering Heights_ _Tarzan the Ape Man_ (inter-species) _Auntie Mame_ _Cinema Paradiso_ _Jeremiah Johnson_ _The Lion King_ (inter-species) _Oliver!_ _The Awful Truth_ _Father Goose_ _A Thousand Clowns_ _Edward Scissorhands_ _The Search_ _True Grit_ _Paper Moon_ _The Blind Side_ _Captains Courageous_ ---
**Author:** ![Roundabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dec6dc/32.png) [@Roundabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roundabout)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/36 "2014-10-26T11:35:12Z")
I’m not sure if _Face/Off_ fits those parameters, but Castor (as Sean) does wind up looking after Jamie through the middle of the movie, while Sean protects and later adopts Castor’s son at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/37 "2014-10-26T13:46:47Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > \*\*Ally McBeal \*\*and **The X-Files**. Ally and Scully find out rather unexpectedly that they each have a daughter that they didn’t know about. What does this mean- they didn’t know they gave birth? The pain alone should have been a big clue. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/38 "2014-10-26T15:33:37Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > What does this mean- they didn’t know they gave birth? The pain alone should have been a big clue. Nope, they didn’t give birth. Scully’s ova was stolen, and Ally, when young, had donated some for a project to improve upon methods of freezing unfertilized ova. In Scully’s case the Consortium used her ova in a hybridization experiment and in Ally’s the ova were accidentally used instead of the wife’s for a couple doing IVF. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/39 "2014-10-26T15:50:31Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > It’s incredibly common. Just from among the movies I’ve seen in the last three or four years… > _The Awful Truth_ ??? This is one of my favorite movies with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. It’s about a divorcing couple having a custody fight over their Fox Terrier, play by Asta. They both date a couple of losers, contemplate remarriage, and then have to face the awful truth, that maybe they actually love each other. It’s one of the funniest screwball comedies ever, and won best picture in, IIRC, 1937. According to IMDb, the only other movie called _The Awful Truth_ is a Michael Moore documentary. Are you thinking of another Irene Dunne/Cary Grant movie called _My Favorite Wife_, where Irene Dunne is stranded on a desert island for seven years, and then rescued on the eve of her husband’s remarriage (not a spoiler-- this all happens in the first ten minutes). She has two children who were babies when she “drowned,” and has to figure out a way to tell them she is their mother. It’s a tertiary plot, and I wouldn’t put it in this category. There’s also an Irene Dunne/Cary Grant movie called _Penny Serenade_ where they adopt a baby, but they do so intentionally-- it’s not a parents by surprise movie. It’s also unbearably tragic, and I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s very good, but it’s a cinematic gut punch. On the other hand, I would recommend _The Awful Truth_ to anyone. It is so funny, you may blow out a tonsil laughing. The Irene Dunne/Cary Grant version, that is. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497/40 "2014-10-26T16:06:43Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > It’s one of the funniest screwball comedies ever, and won best picture in, IIRC, 1937. Nominated, not won. “The Life of Emile Zola” was the winner for 1937. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-or-movies-about-people-who-suddenly-become-parents/702497.md?page=3)