A Bump Along the Way (Shelly Love, 2019): UK

Reviewed by Maria Zermeno. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.

The UK film A Bump Along the Way, directed by Shelly Love, is about a forty something year old single mother who struggles to raise her teenage daughter and often lacks the mother-daughter connection. The film stars Bronagh Gallagher as Pamela a mother who is often wild and isn’t seen as a role model. Her teenage daughter Allegra or “Ally,” who is played by Lola Petticrew, is a teenager struggling to fit in at school and often struggles to connect with her mother at home. When Pamela becomes pregnant after a one-night-stand, she is forced to step up and finally be the responsible parent that Allegra has been yearning. This dramedy deals a lot with real life situations and sheds light on the struggles that single mothers like Pamela may face. This is a great film for a good laugh and a good cry because the struggles that both Pamela and Allegra face are so relatable to those watching. At the beginning of the film, you can clearly see and feel the disconnection that Allegra has with her mother Pam, but towards the end of the film you can see the growth in both characters as they learn to get along and strengthen their bond. Allegra secretly deals with a bully in her class that her mother is not aware of but when Allegra’s teacher brings Pam’s attention to the situation, Allegra finds herself blaming her mistreatment in the classroom on her mother’s reputation. This causes them to argue but in a way it helps them realize that they need to come together instead of turning against each other. The film has a lot of funny and great moments but my favorite moment was when Pam confronted the father of her unborn child and threatened him with the police if he didn’t step up as the father and pay child support. After this scene, you can hear the audience cheering and applauding Pamela because this scene was definitely a girl power moment and such an amazing way to bring awareness to the situation. After this amazing moment with Pam and the father of her child, we also begin to see the progression of Allegra’s character. In the beginning, Allegra was scared to confront her bully but later in the film we see her stand up for herself which I thought was a great moment. This film is definitely a “chick flick” but it can still be fun and entertaining for all ages. I really found myself loving the title of the film too because not only does it quite literally insinuate that Pam is pregnant, but it also has a deeper meaning. The title “A bump along the way” expresses how the mother-daughter relationship of Pamela and Allegra is not an easy one. The two face “a bump,” meaning they face troubles, on their journey to strengthen their bond as mother and daughter and is definitely a great film. 

 


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