This is a very mature film about drug-addiction,not like many other movies with this theme.Kellie Martin plays a pretty neurotic girl who gets involved with the thriller-lifestile of her friends and gets accused of her boyfriends death after a wild party.Then she realises that this isn't what she really wants and that she must have psychological help.... One of the greatest scenes is with the party by the swimming-pool,with "Waydown" by Catherine Wheel on the background. I gave it a 9/10!
11 Reviews
Carried away by her Boyfriend's thriller lifestyle, a teenage girl slips into drug addiction. Then one day after a fight, her boyfriend is found dead.
Sin203222 November 1998
Kellie Martin gives yet another over the top and clichéd performance as the drug addict teen. This, however is compensated for by her support cast. The average script is played wonderfully by most of the young actors and a catchy soundtrack helps make this movie memorable. Brandis steals the show as the lovable bad-guy who meets an untimely end and the last minute twist is interesting to say the least.
Where is Kellie Martin's Emmy?!
giantcockroach10 April 2001
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!
One of the best TV movies I've ever seen
mamamiasweetpeaches15 January 2004
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!)
Great Movie!
amyrc7 September 2002
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?
Kellie Martin is amazingly out of control
lilpab1323 August 2002
Kellie Martin plays an addicted drug an alcohol user oblivious to the damage her actions are doing to herself as well as her mother...Her mother is played by Patti Lupone who played Kellie's mom in the series Life Goes On...This movie was well acted and Kellie Martin rises to be the best and the worst in this thought provoking film...for those of you who have seen her on ER, ignore the fact that her interaction and dialogue does not even compare to her presence as an actress in everything else she does...
this film was awesome
egirling31 August 2001
Kellie Martin manages to role another fat one. I only watched this film a week ago on the BBC it was sunday night and the Juror on Channel $ was Just boring so i changed the channel. put it on BBC 1 and wolla the film had just start. it was showing the cast and the first thing i saw was staring Kellie Martin so i thought what in gods name is she trying to do. it's obvios that she can't play a loaded teenager that has turned to drugs. However she sure as hell surprised me on this one. she played her perfectly. this prooves that she is a trully great actor and anybody who thinks otherwise should be shot. the film is about a teenager that gets stuck in with the wrong crowd what my mum would call "the loons of the world" and looses control of her life. Eventually like with all drugs adicts she goes bust however not in the Dead sense, like it can sometimes. and the rest of the film is about how she suffers to get clean. actually alex reminds me of me appart from the fact that i'm male and she's not. the plot of the film is incredible and the directing is just as deep. the only probem with was that it was set where quincy was set. for example when alex nearly falls off the building that is the same building where quincy used to work. this was the best film i've ever watch.
Better than I expected
ryca1319 October 2002
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.
Good but the casting need to be worked on.
llihilloh29 December 2000
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.
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.
pretty good portrait of a recovery process
Paul-9127 June 1999
I liked this movie. Kellie Martin was believable in the lead role, and the portrayal of her struggles with peer pressure was also credible.
I found the plot development about the death of the obnoxious boyfriend (he WAS a stupid, selfish jerk!) and subsequent criminal investigation to be unnecessary and a distraction from the main point of the movie, which was how difficult it is to get and stay sober in high school, while all of your peers continue to drink and use drugs. However, even with this distraction, I felt that this was a good movie.
I found the plot development about the death of the obnoxious boyfriend (he WAS a stupid, selfish jerk!) and subsequent criminal investigation to be unnecessary and a distraction from the main point of the movie, which was how difficult it is to get and stay sober in high school, while all of your peers continue to drink and use drugs. However, even with this distraction, I felt that this was a good movie.
What happened to Kellie Martin?
altea29 January 1999
Having followed the career of Miss Martin for quite some time I was very disappointed that she agreed to play in this movie. I love the work of Miss Martin: she is a great actress and I am pleased to see her in E.R. but this movie was a complete catastrophe. During the complete running time of the movie I was always distracted by the fact that she was not the girl to play this part i.c. opposite of J. Brandis there couldn't have been a greater difference between two people: she was playing the quite gentle shy girl, he was the know-it/seen it all kind of guy who is living from his parents money and has yet to prove that he can earn his income independently! She was on drugs!!! Come on! I am sorry to say that Miss Martin was totally miscast! Being the producer on this show answers a lot! The other thing that annoyed me very much was the overweight of Miss Martin: I even didn't recognize her at the beginning of the film due to her very round face!
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