Hunger Point

Hunger Point got my attention because of Barbara Hershey's name. She would not lend her respected name to an ordinary tale of eating disorders. Before giving this Lifetime film a try, I can recall watching no other treatment since the major network TV movie of Karen Carpenter's tragic struggle (1989). Hershey plays a difficult role with empathy, allowing us to care for her even as we see the horror of her well-intentioned child-raising habits. How else can her younger daughter, who is so clearly torn by conflicting feelings, keep going back to her?

Other subtleties are implicit in this younger daughter's characterization: Frannie Hunter as played by Christina Hendricks. For most of the film Frannie sees wrong only in the way others live their lives, and resists all hints that she needs help too (like family members affected by someone's drinking, usually seeing the drinker as the only sick one, slow to realize they've become sick too). The eating disorder (ED) counselor was also played with subtlety: to the uninitiated, a less than ideal worker; to the experienced, doing her best in an greatly discouraging medical field.

After watching Hunger Point, I wanted to check the names of the writers, but first saw the name of the director: Joan Micklin Silver. As soon as I Googled her name I saw she's one of the outstanding directors of the last thirty years, first coming to my attention with Crossing Delancey. At the time (1988), I noticed only the critical praise, not the director's name. After reading about her list of contributions to film, I have no doubt she wanted to work on this film because it was worthy, one of the better treatments of eating disorders even if it comes seemingly late, when the general public is tired of the theme. In time, I have no doubt this film will stand out from the rest, and will be recommended viewing for many people caught up in the ED cycle.

Thanks to writers Jillian Medoff and Deborah Amelon for the novel and screenplay that attracted Barbara Hershey's talents, and the great directing skills of Joan Micklin Silver.

If you're like me, you love cheesy Lifetime movies. Well, then this is for you. Hunger Point is the story of a girl who checks herself into rehab for anorexia and how she came to be that way. As a child, her mother would encourage her two daughters to be as thin as possible. The story focuses more on the girl's older sister, who is between jobs and living with her parents during a very stressful time. It definitely follows the old Lifetime plot, but it works if you aren't expecting much. Despite the serious subject matter, I found it pretty campy, but entertaining enough. A plus (or minus for some) is the horrible hairdo Barb Hershey sports all through the movie. If you're ever bored and it's rerunning, I'd watch it just for the cheese factor.

This movie is absolute craziness! You heard, as I said, it's a film about eating disorders, and being anorexic yes, but is there a life lesson? Moral value? No. First of all, the mother in this movie insists her daughters be stick thin which is not a real body type at all (my mother's parents are the same way), and puts pressure on her daughters for how they look. With that, Shelly is driven to anorexia, and in a mental hospital and drives herself completely insane, and gets all these websites, and kills herself and is alarmingly thin. It shows no life lesson or moral value, because nobody talks to her about her anorexia. I, for one was anorexic at a young age, but I'm well now because I had the help I needed.

So, I really wouldn't recommend this movie. It can screw you up if you believe the crap that goes on in it. What this world needs to learn is positive thinking, and that magazines and junk like that aren't real. It's all airbrushing and camera angles. Not the real thing.

When I saw the previews for this movie I was intrigued. I was expecting a movie about a young woman who was battling anorexia that delved into how it all began and followed her along her struggle. However the "background information" that would set up the childhood of this suffering character is quickly plowed through and immediately she is checking into a hospital.

There are a few heart breaking scenes that, despite some cheesy and ill-delivered lines, are haunting. When Frannie and Mother first visit Shelly, her utter anger is portrayed extremely well. This is someone who controls her eating because she feels her life is in a tailspin and everything else is out of her control. The other scenes is the two sisters in the restaurant and Shelly asks Frannie to order the sandwich and put on "more dressing" and is practically salivating.

Then 'Hunger Point' meets a fork in the road of the plot and goes in another direction. Shelly becomes an underlying theme or can even be considered a catalyst, for the rest of the film.

If you watch this movie expecting it to be centered around Shelly, it ends up being about Frannie. But if it reruns, I'll tune in. You must at least once!

Wow if I lived in a family like this and had a mother like Marsha Hunter (Hershey) i think I'd go on a rampage and kill her. "oh no!! We can't be overweight! Hell will freeze over before my daughters are overweight!! You want the boys to like you? I mean those poor girls. They had to have grown tired of this woman.....What a bizarre woman!! And to top it all off, that girl Shelley is just as bad! She always seems to be whining about something new or how "ashamed" she is. She's a freak. She has no sort of toughness within her bones. The only normal person in this family is Frannie. Poor girl. She has such a bizarre family. The acting is pretty good though. Well folks, heres your typical lifetime movie. Big bore. Depressing and terrible storyline. The anorexia/bullemic story gets a little old. 0 stars out of 10.