A Nightmare Adoption
When Cara Clausen (Amanda Plummer) fell pregnant she not only took the decision not to tell the father Dan Schmidt (David Keith) but also to have the baby adopted. The adoptive parents Robby (Susan Dey) and Jan DeBoer (Michael Ontkean) are over the moon and but everything and anything they need as well as throwing a party to welcome the new member of the family with all their friends and relatives over the moon. But just a few weeks later Cara not only changes her mind about the adoption but informs Schmidt that he is a father which leads to them trying to get the adoption cancelled and their baby back.
"Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica" is clearly a movie for those who already know the story and are keen on seeing it dramatized. I say that because I had never heard of this story and unfortunately what I watched didn't do a great job of involving me in this drama. Basically it feels like a dry retelling of the story, delivering the facts such as Dan and Cara went on to marry but never really making it feel real.
Now there may be a reason for this as "Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica" comes across as incredibly one sided with the DeBoer's coming across as perfect parents whilst Cara comes across as scatty and Dan appears to be volatile. It skews things too far in making out that Cara and Dan are not worthy which backfires when trying to make us sympathise with Robby and Jan.
What this all boils down to is that "Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica" not only is a movie which seems to only work for those who followed the true story but also is a movie which is incredibly one sided in the presentation of the characters and that has an affect on how well the movie comes across which sadly it does but with problems.
