Her Last Chance

I guess I saw this movie in 1996 because I know it was when it first aired on NBC. I remember it was a great TV movie. I have always looked for it and tried to find out the name. While at school, I came across IMDB.com and I knew Jonathan Brandis was in it cuz I love him. And once I saw Kellie Martin was in it I remembered almost all of the movie. I thought it was an awesome movie. Two of my favorite actors (Martin and Brandis), what more could you ask for?

As she wrestles with sanity and desire in this deftly-paced, cathartic drama, Kellie Martin shows yet again that she can infuse even the darkest character with strength and serenity, dappled with her signature girlish charm. Getting a potent dose of discipline and understanding from her ex-junkie counselor (played with stern compassion by Jenna Elfman) Martin makes an odyssey from spiraling recklessness to confidence and control by discovering the sinewy character she never knew she had. Patti LuPone dazzles as her concerned but misguided mother-- she is never gullible but always faithful when it counts. Jonathan Brandis portrays with aplomb the petulant suburban rebel whose suave facade hides a well of desperation and loneliness. Scenes between Brandis and Martin are eerily scored with a hard rock cover of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love". Not to miss: drug binges masterfully intercut with an imaginary music video and Martin's final dope dreams punctured by a glimpse of herself in the coke mirror!

This movie has good writing, a good plot, but the casting needs improvement.

Everything about "Her Last Chance" is good except for the acting. Don't get me wrong. I love Kellie Martin. She is an amazing actress and is by far one of my favorite actresses. But why would she even attempt at playing a role she is clearly not up to doing? In the past, Kellie has played roles where she is the sweet innocent school girl. (Somebody had mentioned this before.) Alex Saxon, the out-of-control drug addict teen that is sent to rehab doesn't strike me as the character to be played by Kellie Martin. At times she lets herself go and gets caught up in the drug involvement, but she just can't pull it off. The rest of the cast does a terrible job. Where did they find these actors? The only actress/character that I found believable was Patti Lupone who played Alex's mother. The rest could be re-casted without a second thought.

"Her Last Chance" was shown a couple of years ago on NBC and then on Lifetime a while back. I'm really surprised that NBC even agreed to air on their station. (You know how NBC is with their censorship.) Anyway, the filming and shots of the drug usage is really nice because it shows what goes on between teenagers and drugs.

It's a simple movie that has a twist in it to where it makes it interesting. Sort of like a mystery. For an easy-to-follow movie with a good ending, watch this movie. Don't expect too much from the acting department. To see what Kellie Martin is really capable of doing, watch ANY of her other films.

I caught this movie on tv the other day and surprised myself by watching the entire thing. Kellie Martin did an excellent job playing "the good girl" who's got everyone completely convinced that she's all right, while secretly being a drug addict. Her lies catch up with her, and then no one believes her once she starts to tell the truth. Having known many people like this in high school, I was very impressed. Also, the weight in her face was very cute and helped her look very young and innocent, as was needed. She even managed to convincingly play a drug addict! Overall, I was quite impressed - a relatively implausible storyline played very realistically.

I used to love the TV movies from the 70s & 80s. Then in the 90s the whole genre sort of...I don't know....but form 1990 on there really haven't been any great ones worth mentioning. Except for HER LAST CHANCE. HER LAST CHANCE was a TV movie in 1996. I watched it not expecting much and fell in love with it. It stars Kellie Martin (Life Goes On) as a girl who likes to party hearty and has no idea why her mother would put her in a re-hab clinic. "I never dropped out of high school, I never stole, its not like I was a Drug Lord"...these are all things Kellie says. When she finally DOES break down and accept the help from the program (and her counselor Jenna "Dharma" Elfman), she gets released and doesn't follow the first big rule: do NOT hang out with your old friends who still party. Of course the first person she hooks up with on her first day out is her no-good boyfriend.And soon she's back to partying with her old friends like she did in the...ahem...."Good Old Days". I want to take a moment to say that some scenes of this movie...particularly some of the scenes where she's partying with her friends...reminded me of some of the partying days I had as a teenager, and I also had to agree now that Im an adult that the first big rule about not hanging out with your old friends is true. If I still partied with my old friends Im pretty sure I wouldn't be here right now. But I digress..... the movie also has a sub-plot about a murder thrown in. THAT parts a little silly and unnecessary, and I,nor Im sure other audience members could NOT identify with that. But all-in-all a good movie that they sometimes play on LIFETIME network(I taped it from them last week!)