MovieChat Forums > 227 (1985) Discussion > Does anyone else think Mary and Lester w...

Does anyone else think Mary and Lester were too hard on Calvin?

posted 8 years ago by AdrianLePier
7 replies | jump to latest

They were always so suspicious of him and his motives where Brenda was concerned. Their treatment of him was often basically rude and at times totally out of line. Mary and Lester are the type of parents of daughters that I hate. They assume that all boys are up to no good and that their daughter is pure that they become unreasonably strict in ways that inspire their daughters to sneak around and ultimately act in ways that they were trying to prevent. There's an old saying "the preachers daughter is usually the town tramp." And the show kind of proves that theory true in a way because it was usually Brenda who would come up with schemes to spend time with Calvin behind their backs.

[–] SmokyBrownEyes 8 years ago

Yes. In real life Brenda would've ended up pregnant by 16 or 17 from sneaking around either by Calvin or someone much worse. I can understand if Calvin was the town thug then yes, I would keep my eye on the both of them. Calvin seemed like any other respectful teen-aged boy being raised by a grandmother. Grandma doesn't play. If Mary and Lester know they done a fine job raising their daughter and Pearl stays on Calvin's back then they should've have much to worry about. Could be why Regina King played those hood chick-type characters early in her career. I admit I haven't watched this show in some years so maybe I'm forgetting some things.

[–] AdrianLePier 8 years ago

True. Overprotective parents wind up doing more damage than good. In most cases, the kids turn out to be either repressed or rebellious...and in either scenario, they're usually resentful. I really wish Mary and Lester had had an older child who was more liberated and willing to call them on their views.

[–] jtmovies 8 years ago

I always thought that Calvin and Brenda would have a brother/sister relationship. As close as Mary was to Pearl, I assumed that Calvin and Brenda had known each other their whole lives.

Guys like Calvin wouldn't go for the 'nice girl next door' like Brenda. Especially if her parents know him too well.

[–] IcingOnTheCake 8 years ago

She was their only child. Calvin wasn't a bad kid but not too bright either.

[–] abajasds 8 years ago

They were hard on him and it's rather silly in a way that they were because Mary and Pearl were best friend so if they didn't care for Calvin then why would she be friends with Pearl? That's kind of insulting her as she tries to raise him. But he was basically a typical teenage boy, he wasn't a trouble maker but he was like the boy next door, just a bit dimwitted.

My job is to inform, not persuade- Dan Rather

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] TampaOutlaw84 8 years ago