Desperate Lives

This film, edited down to 54 minutes was shown as an "ABC Afterschool Special". And like many of the specials took a young persons view of a particular issue: AIDS, drugs, teen pregnancy, etc. This one, staring Helen Hunt did the heavy drug thing, and was toned down when it was edited for the After School showing. Not bad acting for Helen, she certainly moved onward and up. Its interesting looking back at these afterschool specials, as many young actors (Scott Baio, Mariel Hemmingway, Hunt, Charlie Sheen..etc) were featured, and many moved up in Hollywood stature. It's unfortunate the specials are no longer (since 1997, I think) being produced.

This movie, a lovely "just-say-no" message wrapped up in a thin plot, contains more unintentional humor than anything else. Things to look for: Kids making PCP in the high school chemistry lab. Helen Hunt diving headfirst out of a second-story window (after her boyfriend convinces her to try his homemade PCP). A locker check (in a small-town high school) that turns up more drugs and paraphenalia than the evidence room at a busy LAPD precinct. The entire student body realizing what terrible things drugs are and adding another twenty pounds of assorted stuff to what's been pulled out of the lockers and burned. This movie isn't quite as trashy as "Reefer Madness," but it's in the same ballpark.

This was Diana's first movie after Mommie Dearest, and it was fairly brave, at the time, for a TV movie. Yes, it's a bit of a mess, but it certainly deals with a messy subject -- one that can be dealt with any number of ways. When the students at an assembly, and Diana Scarwid goes around to their lockers with a shopping cart, it is an absolute scream. When she finally confronts the students, she is foaming with righteous anger and chews up the scenery like no other actress before her. When they burn all the contraband and the students begin to add their own stashes to the bonfire, Scarwid is victorious. GREAT performance in a campy movie...

Television movies about "addictions and diseases of the Week" are a dime a dozen. This one is different. It is the best movie I have ever seen about teenage drug abuse in our schools because it is realistic and unsentimental in its depiction. Not to give it away, but the fact it doesn't have a pleasant ending makes it even more powerful. Diana Scarwid is excellent as the caring young teacher who stands up when no one else will. Her monologue to the students and parents at the end should have gotten her an Emmy. Even though this film was made almost twenty years ago, it hasn't aged and is still as powerful today as it was in 1982. I think all kids who are tempted by drugs need to watch it with their parents.

OK so the whole point was Nancy's Just Say No crap which didn't work any better than todays cigarettes is drugs crap that makes me want to smack the child with the snotty attitude that it's coming from. But my main two images are Helens swan dive and Tricia looking thru the steering wheel.. its SO prettttttyyyyyyyy... to this day still use that line with this movie's image in mind.

I think of this movie often in life, partly for the guy in my HS who jumped out the second story classroom to spend his remaining days in a wheel chair, and "weeeeeeeee! " Down the side of the cliff...

The rest of it is classic afterschoolspecial Cheesy drama class acting, shoot my middle schoolers drama performances are way better that those in this movie. .

I still love this movie. Good try Nancy! It stuck with me, but didn't help me just say no...