Girl, Positive (2007 TV Movie) User Reviews

Teens are going to have sex

[oldskoolgeek · 7/10 · 12 June 2008]

OK, I'll admit that I only started watching this movie because I was bored, nothing else was on, and I'm a Jennie Garth fan from her 90210 days, but once I started watching it I was hooked. At first I kept checking the TV guide to see when this movie came out, part of me couldn't believe that it was just made last year in 2007 -- attention to HIV and AIDS sadly seems so yesterday. When I was in the 8th grade we put condoms on bananas, watched Salt n' Peppa's "Let's Talk About Sex" video in class, and talked about people like Ryan White and Magic Johnson. I don't know about my peers, but it definitely made an impression on me. I'm 29 now and I can't believe how safe sex seems so passé. One would think that as more time passed this issue would continue to be one people would talk about, but it appears to be the opposite. People may talk more about sex thanks to shows and movies like "Sex and the City," but these only provide "shocking" entertainment for some and usually never addresses the consequences. In our country's conservative climate I almost feel as if we are back in the 80's where people are completely in the dark when it comes to factual information about HIV and AIDS. What's even more disturbing is Hollywood's rampant trend of young pregnancies, presented in a glamorous fashion. Everyone knows that teens are going to have sex (so let's stop pushing abstinence), but now having unprotected sex in order to get pregnant seems almost in vogue in today's media and no one is talking about STDs anymore.

I thought that this film was a very realistic and modern take on what seems like the forgotten HIV/AIDs discussion and I would think it would appeal to today's teen. They did not tip-toe around the subject of sex, or portray the girls who engaged in sexual activity in a negative light -- it was honest and very up to date, in my opinion. I think that schools should stop pretending that kids cannot handle this information or that they live in a bubble where sex or STDs do not happen. This film should be shown in sex ed classes to get an important discussion going.

A valiant effort, well-intentioned

[qrkyboy · 6/10 · 1 December 2008]

I credit LMN for somewhat venturing outside of their comfort zone here and producing this film. At 96mins the reality is the final 30mins or so (well, with commercials, lots less) really would have been done much better justice and falls into the rapid cleanup for the ending-everyone-wants department. Like most LMN movies I have seen the overall film was very good -- and quite predictable in its outcome, which is a shame because they do as good a job as most cable networks in terms of production values, acting, even the basic script.

The film is quite good. I should preface this by saying my perspective is not likely to match some viewers as I myself am HIV+. A lot of the reactions and interactions were probably among the most realistic portrayals I have seen in anything recent dealing with this subject matter. At the same time, I do feel that the film suffers from trying to understand and portray things it really can't get at for no reason other than the experiences of its network and writers.

Benefits: I think the choice of setting in Atlanta-area was probably somewhat wise, because I grew up in a similar area and while there are cliques as with any school, the overall setting feels quite right for suburban Atlanta. It might not play to other areas of the country. I don't quite get how they prominently featured Fulton County, Georgia plates and yet no one really seemed to have an accent, even odder that it was filmed (according to IMDb) around New Orleans. In general the reactions were almost dead-on to the initial shocks. For a lot of teens who don't fall into the jock-crowd, though, these reactions will be a lot more extreme. It was smart, I suppose, to portray this as a straight girl getting HIV presumably from a jock who liked his needles, and I'm not sure any one film could have managed this as well.

Downsides: Obviously the writer/editor has never used IM or anything like it. It comes off quite fake, and I think it might ultimately end up sabotaging the film with most kids. The video-gamish feel is annoying because its kind of like trying to explain Warcraft to your parents; it doesn't work. And it's vlog not V-log. The wrap-up is too fast and too clean, and too sweet as well. It would have benefited from another 30-45 minutes of a less syrupy, more real, ending.

To parents: Don't see this with your kids. Find a way to let them find it and be curious about it, without pushing it. If you want a film that is more likely going to hit home with your teen, then suck it up and leave a copy of Larry Clark's "Kids" lying around. It's brutal but much more effective to that demo.

My 2c.

I hope it opens your eyes...

[blueyegrl527 · 9/10 · 29 December 2007]

Though I'm not a fan of Lifetime movies, I saw this on the TV Guide and thought I would watch it. Why you ask? Well for one, I'm HIV positive and I wanted to see how this movie was done. Most movies are so stupid I can't see how they help open anyone's eyes that HIV is not a "gay disease". I'm a heterosexual, white female. I tested positive when I was 22 years old. Though I was not as young as the girl portrayed in this movie, I had the same reaction. You think your life is over. I still have anxiety attacks, and my 10 year anniversary of being diagnosed is next year! I've been very lucky, not currently on any medications, engaged to a wonderful non-positive man, and just got a new well paying job. I REALLY hope that high school kids see this movie and open their eyes, you are young but you are not invincible! It CAN happen to you. Though this movie is a bit hokey at times, (yes I used the word hokey), I think it did a good job of getting the point across. Use a condom and when the guy says your his first, or he's always used condom's before and he will pull out, you need to get up and leave. Make him wear a condom all the time! You never know, no matter what he says, you never know. We can stop the spread of this disease if everyone would just love themselves enough to use protection.

Powerful,Excellent

[dannyrobbins12 · 10/10 · 1 July 2007]

This was a very powerful film!Jenni Garth was excellent! as well as the girl who starred in this!who will definitely go onto great things!I am a 23 year old white male who is hiv positive.I found this film to be right on and very realistic for me and my experience.I thought that the way they betrayed the world in which these kids were living in was very real.Jenni Garths character was very believable I identified with her and her loneliness very much,I also identified with the young girl whose life was completely turned upside down when she found out she was poz..Thank god for Lifetime for taking on Important issues like this!These movies are better than half the crap coming to movie theatres.I think Jenni Garth would be an excellent activist for hiv/aids not only because she is an excellent actress and so beautiful but she has handled this subject matter quite a few times now(on 90210 as well)and done it with such grace.It was hard for me to watch this and I broke down a few times,but at the end it left me with something I have not felt in awhile,..Hope.

Great movie.

[wildximagination · 10/10 · 1 July 2007]

I had been looking forward to see this movie since I saw the first preview of it. I am a big lifetime movie freak and this one seemed very interesting.

The movie I think was great, it's amazing to realize that one person can infect hundreds. Yeah I know the basics of HIV, but this really goes to show you just how bad things can get and how quickly.

I think this movie should be played in all high schools around the world so they'll think twice about having unprotected sex. You won't keep them from having sex but at least you can put it in their minds on how bad things happen.

If this movie could only change the world, but it won't. But I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, I didn't think it was the best movie ever but it had very strong points, which made it good. I think any movies discussing serious stuff as this are the best and they all did a great job!

Refreshing Look From The Normal Teen Sex Movies

[ChesterRelientWinchester · 8/10 · 9 January 2008]

Girl, Positive tells the story of a girl in her senior year in high school who is worried that she might have HIV/AIDS.

Girl, Positive is a refreshing look on the outcomes of sex at any age, although movies are usually generated at teen pregnancies because they are more interesting. The normal outcomes are that the girl gets pregnant and the guy either leaves or stays with her in the end or that the girl or guy gets some STD of one form that is usually treatable. Girl, Positive gave some twist: girl gets HIV from a crush at a party and gives it to her boyfriend a few months later. Boy freaks out when girl tells him, boy breaks up with the girl and rumors fly about the girl who had HIV.

All in all, it's refreshing to see a movie where the teen girl didn't get pregnant and the movie follows her journey through the nine months and labor.

The film was a conscious reminder how serious the HIV/Aids virus is.

[Lefpro · 9/10 · 14 July 2007]

I'm a writer and I just produced a short film called, "Born with It." Chronicling the journey of a young female born with the HIV virus. So this film, "Girl, Positive," have definitely it home with me. I can't compare the two because more movies need to be produced like this to show the youth, people period, that we need to take this virus seriously and stop judging others physical as being safe to have unprotected sex with because they don't look like their infected. I liked this film a lot and hopefully I will meet the writer some day soon once "Born with It" goes into production. There are many ways to contract this virus, but the worst of all to human nature is to be born with it and have nothing to do with it. The statistics today is increasing and it seems that many people aren't educating them self nor the youth enough. The age 25yrs and younger are the ones that it is infected more than any. Thumbs up to the film maker. LEF Filmz