Desperate Lives

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...

Desperate Lives is one of the first movies my family every recorded on our VCR. I was 6 years old when this movie first came out, and I am not sure how old I was when I watched this movie for the first time, but I continued to ask if I could watch it again and again. I continued to watch this movie into my junior high and high school years.

This movie dealt hard with the drug topic and was very relevant for the times. I no longer own a copy of this movie, but would love to see it again. I think it is a great movie where parents or teachers could talk to their kids about drug abuse and their effects and peer pressure.

Because it has been so many years since I have seen this movie, I did not realize that the counselor was Helen Hunt, but I do remember that I was always very impressed by her character.

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...

This movie scared the you-know-what out of me!!! i remember seeing it when i was about 11 years old and i will NEVER forget the scene of Helen Hunt jumping out of the window. I never knew the name of the movie until I watched an old episode of Saturday Night Live when she hosted and showed that scene as a spoof. I freaked out when I saw it as old sleepless nights came flashing back. I remember when I saw it, it scared me so bad I cried. Yes, it would probably be cheesy if it were showed today but it really did work for me. I smoked pot in college but that was it. Not to mention I was exposed to EVERYTHING you can imagine. However, I always remembered Helen Hunt going through the window and have thanked her ever since for my wise choice to abstain. i was always afraid I would have the same reaction of thinking my arm was a snake. I wish there was a way to show this to kids today but they may laugh at it. Perhaps it was my formidable years but it really worked for me. How funny that others had the same reaction. I always tell people that this is the reason I didn't ever do drugs but no one believes me. Thank you Helen Hunt for jumping through the window and trying to cut your arm off with a piece of glass!!! this movie may have saved my life!