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.
