For the Love of Nancy

When I first saw this movie, I myself was anorexic, so it definitely made an impression on me. Tracy Gold is a wonderful actress in general, but in this movie especially, really bringing to life the struggles that Nancy goes through. There are parts in the movie where I was close to tears, not just because it hit close to home, but because of the realism and the way the story was portrayed. Most Lifetime movies that I've seem are pretty good at sending out a positive message, and this one is no exception. I would definitely recommend this movie to my friends, to anyone wanting to see a realistic movie about eating disorders, and to anyone who is interested in this true story genre.

Boasting more plot holes than your average piece of Swiss cheese, this was Tracey Gold's first major role after recovering from anorexia. I highly doubt anyone's parents would take their anorexic daughter to court, no matter what the feelings involved were. Jill Clayburgh wails and wrings her hands, William Devane's big scene involves throwing a bowl on the floor, and Cameron Bancroft and Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Gold's brothers deliver acting performances with all the depth of Jello. Gold, of course, fares better than everyone and her own experiences truly shed light upon her character's struggles, but the featherweight scripts and hammy "supporting acting" let her down. Maybe this would have worked better as an ABC After School Special.

i'm sure it was very difficult for tracey gold to act in what was a story that mirrored her own life, but i do think it was kind of sick to get an anorexic to play an anorexic. some people might argue that it was therapeutic for her, but once an anorexic, always an anorexic. it's like being an alcoholic; you're never cured.

the parents are portrayed as clueless, especially the mother. jill clayburg manages to take the character and make her unsymapthetic, annoying, bossy, and whiny all at the same time. if she were my mother, i'd skip a slow death and swallow some poison instead. william devane gives a solid performance as always, as does mark-paul goselaar. he plays the role of the caring brother very convincingly. the other brother, the "food cop" could have been played by a cardboard cutout and it would have had a larger range of emotions.

all-in-all, pretty run-of-the-mill lifetime fodder. watch it if only to count how many times somebody tells tracey gold to eat. (i lost count.)

I originally watched this film in Health class while studying eating disorders and other self-image diseases and I thought that it would never be very good. But it is pretty good, especially for a Lifetime channel made-for-TV movie. It is about a young girl named Nancy who becomes anorexic to the point where she is running nearly all day and disposes of food given to her by her watchful mother by hiding it under her bed and even knocking out a hole in the wall to dump food into. This film was full of drama and showed the damage that anorexia nervosa can do not only to the person infected with it, but to the victim's family (Nancy almost died). This was good and I recommend it to anyone. But if you or anyone in your family has been anorexic you should stay away, as it is sure to bring back bad memories. Feel free to email me with any questions or comments.

took a risk with this movie. Dealing with this issue is complex, and even posters here have critiqued her for "looking healthy". Since this is true to her own story, I feel this is a very important point; why is it still so acceptable that Kate Moss, for example, is the female ideal, and Delta Burke is not??? (rhetorical question) The Lifetime Movie is done very well, in that it may be slow at times, but shows Nancy's increasing alienation from her friends. Jill Clayburgh is quite believable as the mother, and William Devane seems very sensitive; blames himself, as the father.

Primarily, this is a good "message" movie, which I think is one of Lifetime's strong points; while you may not have a "masterpiece"; you have an excellent TV film that people watch; with the current system of healthcare in crisis; this may be the best psychotherapy most Americans can get for psychological issues. If you have a child struggling with these issues, or are curious, it is definitely worth watching. Another similar film I would highly recommend is "Hunger Point", with Barbara Hershey; a film that deals with similar issues in a sensitive way.