Desperate Lives (1982 TV Movie) User Reviews

I Remember This

[mastbradped · 5/10 · 25 December 2005]

I remember that it was quite bad acting, typical for those ABC After school Specials; however, we get to see a young Helen Hunt and Diana Scarwid (post "Mommy Dearest"), in all her over-acting! It doesn't come across quite humorous and unrealistic at many points. I mean, you knew kids were doing drugs in high school but for the counselor to go through all their lockers during an assembly, then emotionally storm into the assembly and light the drugs on fire was way over the top! As far as the poster who mentioned Helen Hunt and her scene being deleted during her better times, actually, I remember when she hosted "Saturday Night Live" in the early 90's, after she had her comeback hit with "Mad About You." She did a clip where she was doing something and then she walked over to a window, then the next shot was the inserted footage from this movie where she has her "PCP freak-out scene" and goes through the window! It was pretty hilarious! Anyway, those Afterschool Specials always meant well!

Not nearly that bad...

[style-2 · 6/10 · 12 May 2005]

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...

Junk

[DaCritic-2 · 7 November 2000]

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.

Pure idiocy for small minds

[gregUSSD · 1/10 · 11 March 2019]

Anyone who imagines this movie is any more than insulting garbage is just dumber than a wet sack of hammers. Seriously. Ludicrous, shallow propaganda is faaaaar more dangerous than a thousand joints could ever be. When kids try drugs (which they almost certainly will) and see the reactions depicted in this schlock are utter nonsense, they will disregard genuine warnings. I wish I could give minus 493 stars.

Flashes from history

[wifenlaw · 10/10 · 14 April 2013]

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...

Desperate Lives

[johnny-279 · 10/10 · 22 October 2005]

In addition to the synopsis Rick Springfield sang the title track.

I remember this movie from my child hood and it deeply affected my understanding of hard drugs. When I was born DARE wasn't really as prominent because it lacked organization. I think due to this School related Drug education seemed to me more influential than prohibitive but this movie affected me toward the contrary.

The Synopsis is that a life devoted or sidetracked to drugs is a life that will have a notorious end.

It did have a message strong enough to have a lasting impact on then my still developing intellect.

High-sterical!

[Gangsteroctopus · 17 July 2002]

I cannot believe that one comment I just read for this one, that this piece of junk is "powerful" and "realistic" - WHAT?! This utterly awful TV movie is pure, 100% hokum. I went to high school in the '80s, when this thing came out and this TV movie seems to have been made on another planet by aliens who had absolutely no contact with real teenagers. I wish I'd seen this then - I could have used the laughs. But at least it's acquired a thick patina of camp value over the years, what with its beyond-earnest, totally out of touch plot and dialogue. This is the "Reefer Madness" of the '80s. Helen Hunt's PCP suicide/freakout is a pee-in-your-pants crack-up. (I don't suppose they'll be showing that clip when she's up for the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, should that ever happen.)

A great anti-drug TV movie with a message.

[jeffman52001 · 10/10 · 8 January 2005]

This TV movie really shows how drugs will effect the lives of all who take it and the family members who lose someone to drugs. "Desperate Lives" has a great cast.

Scott Cameron,played by Doug McKeon(On Golden Pond), is a kid who hangs around with kids who do drugs. Sandy Cameron, Scott's sister, Sandy,

played by the beautiful Helen Hunt(Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Mr. Saturday Night, and Mad About You)is dating a boy named Steve, played by Grant Kramer(Hardbodies and The Young And The Restless), who is into drugs. Some of the high school kids have drug problems, nobody want to admit it, but a new councilor, Eileen Phillips, played superbly by Diana Scarwid(Mommy Dearest, Silkwood, and Extremities), can see that there is a problem with the kids with drugs.

Scott's and and Sandy's mother and father, played by Diane Ladd(The Ghosts Of Mississippi) and Tom Atkins(Creepshow, Halloween III, and Lethal Weapon), think that they have the perfect family, they think that their kids can't get into drugs but later on, they realized they wrong.

Steve gets Sandy to try a synthetic version of Angel Dust and she ends up going a little psychotic and injures herself bad. Things gets worse when a girl at the school named Julie Jordan, played by Michele Greene, dies cause of drugs. Scott goes for a ride with a friend named Susan,played by Tricia Cast(The Young And The Restless), they smoke a joint full of the Angel Dust and get into a wreck, and Susan dies. Scott is taken to the hospital, the doctor says he might recover or not. Scott later on remembers everything and goes spastic. Mr and Mrs Cameron realized how wrong they were about their kids not being effected by drugs.

The school still doesn't see the drug problems they have at the school, Eileen Phillips, at a pep assembly, at the high school, makes the school wake up and see what is happening to the kids cause of drugs.

This movie is super,the supporting cast is great.

Clayton Rohner(Just One Of The Guys, Modern Girls, and G vs E)plays Monte.

Mykelti Williamson(Streets Of Fire, Midnight Caller, and Con Air)as Jack.

Art Hindle(Porky's 1 and 2, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, and The Octagon)plays Eileen's boyfriend, Stan.

I give this movie 2 thumbs up and a 10/10 stars.

This was a great movie

[jennacea · 10/10 · 18 March 2005]

I watched this movie back when it first came out on cable I believe . And I loved it . I have since tried to find it to rent or even buy but I never find it. I could always remember Helen Hunt ( she made quite an impression) but always thought the brother was played by Christian Slater.I believe that this is a movie I could watch over and over and still enjoy it. The closing scene in the pep rally was so intense that for say 15 or 20 years it has stuck with me. I as a mother would actually like to get a copy to show to my own children. This movie reminds me of a time when movies had plots and weren't always raunchy with over rated sex scenes. Defiantly a movie to watch if you have teenagers. And as a teenager myself a few years back , who grew up in a small town , it wasn't all that unrealistic to see the drug use in small town America. And I believe today this movie would still have an extreme impact on teen viewers. Two thumbs way up and 10 stars .

Yup this movie made a square out of me!!!!!

[mkdelano · 8 October 2008]

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!

America i all f***ed up!

[reuger-1 · 10/10 · 28 December 2006]

The person who initially volunteered their comment obviously grew up in a catholic schoolyard full of nuns and sodomizing priests! For I witnessed this type of behavior firsthand! Although, I was a participant as well, I tell you this is exactly what happened in "mainstream" America as well as a smalltown where I grew up. The eighties were a confusing time to grow up. What with the Reagan Administration bringing the fear of all out global war and the way the VIOLENCE in America was shaping up, I TELL YOU IT IS A MIRACLE FROM "GOD" THAT THIS WORLD SURVIVED THE EIGHTIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Praise "GOD" that we survived this long, but the sad part is that today in 2006 going on 2007, those same messed up folks are now running the country. You ought to be ashamed for even trying to belittle this movie. It said a lot for America at that time and today!

Must see for kids

[Headturner1 · 10/10 · 7 March 2019]

I was researching a new drug for depression which brought up PCP and I remembered that I was shown this movie in middle school so here I am. It was so long ago but I do think the that it made me scared to try drugs. In the 80's we had speakers come in and talk that were addicted to pretty much everything and how it affected their lives and it scared me away. I think they need this today more than ever in schools. I now it's old but they should make new ones. I'm going to watch it tonight to see if it still has the same affect even as old as it is and I'll edit.

Worked for me

[littlesizzler1975 · 13 May 2006]

Until today I couldn't remember what the name of the movie was but I remembered the girl from Mommy dearest being in it. I finally pulled out IMDb and looked. All i really remember from the movie was the girl (apparently Helen Hunt) flying through a window. While some will classify this as a "warm fuzzy about saying no" I can say that that scene is EXACTLY what scared me to the point of NOT doing hard core drugs... I dabbled in pot when i was 13 or so and did so for awhile but I would never go harder because i was scared of how I would react. So in my case this movie did its job. I am sure kids today would see it as cheesy but in 1982 I was 6 so i would venture to guess i saw it when i was probably about 10 and it scared me to think those things could happen. I grew up in a small town not knowing about drugs and this really opened my eyes. I can't wait to see it again as i only saw it that one time YEARS ago.

A show with a poignant message

[sp27343 · 2 October 2002]

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.

powerful and unforgettable

[dtucker86 · 29 September 2001]

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.

Every child should see

[sjkhale · 6 December 2004]

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.