User Reviews

Although it might seem this is yet another TV movie about the Amish, for some reason they are endlessly fascinating a subject matter for TV. A group of young Amish people take a trip to LA to see the big city and decide it this is the life they want. No wonder you sometimes see Amish walking around Times Square. Anyway a sort of betrothed girl falls in love there. At first it seems like a light hearted comedy about their experiences with electronics and modern appliances and the big city but things turn more serious when she gets pregnant by her new LA boyfriend hence the title Expecting Amish. AJ Michalka isn't too beautiful so she looks quite okay and believable in the part. Her girlfriends seem a little skanky too fast when they don their city outfits. Her new boyfriend is played by Jesse McCartney who still looks a bit young to knock someone up. The Amish boyfriend is played by Jean Luc Bilodeau of Baby Daddy and he acts serious enough but why he would be such a doormat seems a bit strange. The shunning seems a bit over the top since they were given a chance to go to see the big city anyway. Brian Krause as the father looks a bit silly with the pasted on beard.

Overall worth a watch for fans of Amish culture clash movies.

I am astonished by this movie : not only was it filled with dramas and romance, but it also included the cultural Amish. How on earth did they produce such an amazing film. I've watched it over 10 times and yet it doesn't get old. I wish there was another movie of Expecting Amish with the same cast and obviously others.Despite comments like the others,I think Expecting Amish truly deserves a 10/10 and surely I'm the only one who agrees. The scene were she starts to open up to liking the things in LA (especially Josh) is my favorite. This is also kind of a comedy or well at least I found it funny also, i got very emotional by the end it was so remotely beautiful.

First of all, a group of, apparently wealthy, Amish teenagers easily adapted into the pop culture in a very short period even drinking, going into clubs, buying revealing clothes, having a guy drive them home late into the night but worst of all, staying over a boy's home? Oh, come on.

Second, the movie seems to be portraying the Amish culture in this bad light. And at the same time, paints the modern society in such a good light.

Third, I just don't like how no one notices the wrong in what Hannah has done: She cheated. And she just doesn't seem the least guilty about her premarital affair.

Fourth, Josh. Can someone really meet a very "perfect" guy in a matter of days who will "love" them so much that he would ask them to leave everything they know? (He is so "perfect" that he'll seduce a girl but would not use birth control.) On the same note, does love really come that fast? Last time I checked, young couples who get married too early are more likely to get divorced.

In is Rumspringa in the Amish village of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A number of young adults undergo a rite of passage by leaving the enclave and traveling all the way to Los Angeles. There, they will experience the big city, including the lifestyles of the secular, prior to making their final commitments to their community.

One young man, Isaac Fisher, meets a nice young woman named Lisa, and he decides to remain in L.A. He will be "shunned" by his family. The main focus of the film is a kind young woman named Hannah Yoder. Her mother died young, and Hannah has looked after her younger siblings.

The film is about Hannah's interior struggle after she meets and falls in love with young Josh in L.A. Unlike Isaac, Hannah wishes to return to Lancaster and bid good-bye to her family and her fiancé, Samuel. But she finds it harder to do than she ever would imagine.

Hannah's situation is complicated as well when she discovers that she is pregnant. She and Josh may not have been as conscious as they should have been in recognizing that they only had to do it once for there to be consequences.

The filmmakers developed good dramatic tension in Hannah's dilemma. There is a gradual build-up to her fateful decision to either remain in her community or to pack her bag. One choice will mean that Samuel raises her child that she conceived with Josh. By contrast, leaving home will carry the burden and the shame of being pregnant and shunned.

Truly, the plot has thickened for young Hannah Yoder in this well-crafted domestic drama.

Why do producers put out a movie without doing their actual homework on real Amish life? First off, most Amish, especially the conservative ones in Pennsylvania, do not have a church building. They meet in private homes. And men and women would definitely not be sitting together as portrayed. Amish women do NOT cut their hair yet a teenage girl is shown with bangs. When Hannah is shown with her hair down, it should have been super long yet was obviously cut. Not accurate at all. And the majority of Amish teens who participate in Rumspringa do not leave their homes. They must definitely would not be spending money to go to LA which was clear across the country! This movie inaccurately portrays Rumspringa as a time Amish teens go wild and party, drink, wear English clothes and have premaritial sex. That's usually not what happens. The girls would not be eager to put on sexy dresses and go out partying with English people. Also the Amish do not shun their own unless they've joined the church then committed a serious sin or leave the community. Then they are shunned. But this movie shows the Bishop stating the teenage boy who did not return as being shunned. That's simply not accurate. And conservative Amish don't have cell phones thus there would have been no cell phone towers in the area yet somehow we are to believe she had cell phone reception in the woods. Also in order to charge a cell phone, she would have had to remain at the building where she found an outlet for hours. For her to be gone that long would have raised questions with her father. Again, not believable.

Putting all that aside, the story is unbelievable. The fact Hannah even went to LA doesn't seem realistic. Then she happens to fall for an English guy quick enough to have sex with him? And the English guy, knowing he had never had sex was smart enough to have protection? Their whole romance seemed farfetched. They don't know what love is yet he claims to love her after driving all the way out to Pennsylvania? Come on now.

It's an okay movie with mediocre acting. Definitely low budget, but not the worst I've seen. I at least got a feel for the characters and their perspectives/motivations as the story develops. Many others with more knowledge of the Amish have probably rightfully commented on how inaccurate the depiction of the community was. My take is my frustration with the creative community's absolute ignorance, hate or disdain, etc. For religious communities, especially the more conservative ones. It is the rare piece of art that understands and presents a fair if not positive view of them. IMO, a hijab is not a symbol of oppression but a token showing of modesty and that a women has standards on which her self respect is built. The person should be empowered to chose. Same for many other religious based communities, many people, even intelligent ones, choose and are happy to adhere to standards.

As I watched the film, I cringed about where it might go. It did dance around the benefits of the Amish community. I was chuckling to myself about the many wealthy people I have known that made a boatload of money and then . . . Bought ranch or farmland in the country (in my area, central coastal CA) to live a simpler life (usually on their second or third wife that usually also sticks). So, instead of the female character giving up her Amish life, why doesn't her CA BF be invited to consider Amish life? THAT might be an engaging and thoughtful movie, not the provided lightweight drivel.

Writing good material is not that hard, the conflict set up just has to go deep and be believable. The crux in this movie Is that the main character gets pregnant. Cop out easy plot,convention. How about something like she defends the love and support of her family and community and he has a broken family? A lot of engaging dialogue could be built around that. The dialogue of others kinda does her work for her (Samuel) and contrastingly we hear a line or two and one scene about LA traffic. Really? How about, in LA, all the - avarice and greed on display, the pervasive homeless living everywhere in the streets, the drug addled freak show that is Venice Beach (could go on for days)? So whose lifestyle is really better, hers or his? THAT is a movie that I would give more stars to.