Por el bien de Nancy

When I first saw this movie, I myself was anorexic, so it definitely made an impression on me. Tracy Gold is a wonderful actress in general, but in this movie especially, really bringing to life the struggles that Nancy goes through. There are parts in the movie where I was close to tears, not just because it hit close to home, but because of the realism and the way the story was portrayed. Most Lifetime movies that I've seem are pretty good at sending out a positive message, and this one is no exception. I would definitely recommend this movie to my friends, to anyone wanting to see a realistic movie about eating disorders, and to anyone who is interested in this true story genre.

I found this film very powerful, particularly as it was based on a true story. Some of the other comments made about it were inaccurate and I felt the need to correct them. Someone said that Nancy wouldn't have eaten pizza hours before getting her teeth pulled; but Nancy's brother clearly said their mother had made the appointment - Nancy didn't know about it until after she got home from the prom. It didn't explain why wisdom teeth got pulled - did they have to explain every insignificant detail? Many people get them pulled because they are growing in wrong and painfully. Tracey Gold chose to play the role - no one forced her to. And her performance was convincing, probably more so because of her own anorexia. It showed one line dance during the prom - maybe it was something the students did as a fun change; like when Whigfield's Saturday Night came out and you couldn't go to any disco without it being played. A lot of people like to have a dance routine to follow, so a line dance makes sense. A lot of people, including parents, don't see the signs that someone they love has an eating disorder, especially if they believe the person to be happy. Also, this episode happened in the 70s when there wasn't nearly as much exposure about anorexia. i doubt the movie was made to 'help people out'; more likely someone saw the potential in it, or perhaps they were moved by the story and wanted to make their own version of it. I assume Nancy Walsh really was taken to court by her parents, as the film is based on a true story. This is not unbelievable; similar things have happened. Someone blamed the film for their weight gain - I seriously hope they were joking as this is the flimsiest excuse I've heard yet. 'Nancy is a very grating character who screams and throws fits' - has this person ever dealt with an anorexic person? Their eating disorder is the one thing that matters to them - wouldn't you have a hissy fit if everyone you knew was determined to take away the one thing that mattered to you? 'never truly explains why she has this disease' - the basic explanation was given: Nancy had been babied all her life, was emotionally dependent on her mother and couldn't face being separated from her family, not to mention the responsibility of being an adult. Eating disorders are complex; often there are no easy explanations. Of course everyone has different views on films, and not everyone likes the same ones. But maybe people should get their facts straight before shooting their mouth off.

i'm sure it was very difficult for tracey gold to act in what was a story that mirrored her own life, but i do think it was kind of sick to get an anorexic to play an anorexic. some people might argue that it was therapeutic for her, but once an anorexic, always an anorexic. it's like being an alcoholic; you're never cured.

the parents are portrayed as clueless, especially the mother. jill clayburg manages to take the character and make her unsymapthetic, annoying, bossy, and whiny all at the same time. if she were my mother, i'd skip a slow death and swallow some poison instead. william devane gives a solid performance as always, as does mark-paul goselaar. he plays the role of the caring brother very convincingly. the other brother, the "food cop" could have been played by a cardboard cutout and it would have had a larger range of emotions.

all-in-all, pretty run-of-the-mill lifetime fodder. watch it if only to count how many times somebody tells tracey gold to eat. (i lost count.)

When this movie came out I was severely anorexic and in college. I wanted so bad to have a family that cared about me enough to try to save my life. I remember how well I related to the sadness and the fears Nancy had. I have watched this movie several times over the years and it still brings back powerful emotions. I thought a lot about brave Nancy was at the end to go ahead and agree to the medical guardianship. I wanted so bad to have something like that happen for me so I had an excuse to be made to go to treatment because I knew I would never go on my own. It took almost 30 years of dealing with anorexia to finally get better. I hope the real Nancy Walsh is still doing well.

I saw this movie in school and thought it was fantastic and a great message to people who have struggled or are struggling through anorexia nervosa. I think Tracey Gold is a great actress and she did excellent in this role since she is a recovered anorexic. I think this is a movie everyone should enjoy and i have heard that people think this movie leads people to become anorexic, but i don't think that's true. Tracey Gold sent off a good message by doing this movie.