Riding in Cars With Boys

A single mother, with dreams of becoming a writer, has a son at the age of 15 in 1965. The story follows her through a failed marriage with the drug-addicted father, and the challenges of raising a son while trying to follow her dreams.

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Contains examples of:

• Altar the Speed: Teen pregnancy tends to do that in some marriages. Truth in Television. Also known as a Shotgun Wedding.
• Auto Erotica
• Based on a True Story: Beverly D'Onofrio wrote the book about her life.
• Brittany Murphy: Plays her best friend, Fay, who also gets pregnant by her boyfriend, who is shipped off to Vietnam.
• But I Can't Be Pregnant!
• Daddy's Girl: Beverly is clearly one; however, the pregnancy and her life afterward disappoints him.
• Drew Barrymore: Plays Beverly, the protagonist of the film. She is rebellious daddy's girl, who meets and gets pregnant by a guy she's not really in love with. She marries him anyway (this is The Sixties). Despite the troubled relationship, she tries to follow her dreams. She later leaves him to pursue them.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion
• Glorified Sperm Donor: Ray, the father of Beverly's baby, is essentially this since Beverly and her family raises her son.
• Nothing but Hits: It's The Sixties, after all.
• Maternally Challenged: Beverly struggles to take care of her newborn son.
• Opium Den: Inverted. Beverly uses her house for weed purposes.
• Parenting the Husband: Ray, other than being a drug addict, is imbecilic, which makes Beverly's circumstances harder.
• Stock Aesops: Follow your dreams (Despite some life pitfalls, Beverly still follows her dream of becoming a writer.). Never judge a book by its cover (Teen mom still follows her dream; Not as dumb as thought of). There are many.
• Teen Pregnancy; Beverly and her best friend, Fay, get pregnant at 15.
• The Sixties: It's set in 1965
• The Stoner: Ray