RELEASED TO TV IN 1973 and directed by John Korty, "Go Ask Alice" tells the sad drama of a mid-teen named Alice (Jamie Smith-Jackson) who inadvertently gets addicted to drugs and suffers the consequences. William Shatner and Julie Adams play the oblivious parents while Andie Griffith plays a priest/counselor who's seen it all. Ruth Roman is on hand as a psychiatrist while Mackenzie Phillips has a small part as a runaway.
The movie's based on the international best-selling young adult book by "anonymous" and is still in print to this day. While the book was promoted as the diary of a real teenage girl, albeit edited, over time people have come to the conclusion that it's a fake memoir by Beatrice Sparks, a therapist, (with Linda Glovach possibly co-authoring), although many still believe it's based on an authentic teen diary.
Whether it really was based on a real diary or not is irrelevant because the movie cogently reveals the awful truth of a teen girl converting to the drug culture of the early 70s. The director and writers really grasped what it was like and this is conveyed in many ways in the film; for instance, the challenge of going to a new school at 15 and the self-consciousness thereof. The opening with "White Rabbit" by Grace Slick & Jefferson Airplane is true-to-life and unforgettable. There's another scene of the teens high with "Dear Mr. Fantasy" by Traffic that's just as effective.
The movie condenses heavy real-life issues into a mere 74 minutes and divulges numerous truths: peer pressure to drink & do drugs, being stoned while the parents are oblivious (but the little brother KNOWS something's not right), the social divide between druggies and non-druggies, peddling, mental illness, getting clean, going straight, relapses, running away, homelessness, sexual promiscuity, prostitution and the desperation to get help.
"Go Ask Alice" conveys the awful truth of SOME youths who got addicted to drugs in the late 60s and 70s; and is still relevant in many ways to this day (e.g. the meth and heroin epidemics). The movie never suggests that EVERYONE who experiences the drug culture becomes addicted, etc. For example, I did all the alcohol/drugs shown in the movie and overdosed a few times, but never became addicted and easily quit when I was 19; yet I know friends who became addicts (including addicted to narcotics, as illustrated in the movie), died after an overdose, committed suicide, ran away or ended up in prison.
Needless to say, to argue that the movie is "sensationalist propaganda" and "lies" is absurd.
The narration is taken from Alice's diary, which helps us get to know her via her inmost thoughts and care about her welfare. She's beautiful and has so much potential. We WANT her to overcome her addiction and move on to a productive life. Can she? Will she? All I'll say about the ending is that it's potent: I was utterly floored.
THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 14 minutes and was shot at Universal City, California. WRITERS: Beatrice Sparks (book) and Ellen M. Violett (teleplay).
GRADE: B
The movie's based on the international best-selling young adult book by "anonymous" and is still in print to this day. While the book was promoted as the diary of a real teenage girl, albeit edited, over time people have come to the conclusion that it's a fake memoir by Beatrice Sparks, a therapist, (with Linda Glovach possibly co-authoring), although many still believe it's based on an authentic teen diary.
Whether it really was based on a real diary or not is irrelevant because the movie cogently reveals the awful truth of a teen girl converting to the drug culture of the early 70s. The director and writers really grasped what it was like and this is conveyed in many ways in the film; for instance, the challenge of going to a new school at 15 and the self-consciousness thereof. The opening with "White Rabbit" by Grace Slick & Jefferson Airplane is true-to-life and unforgettable. There's another scene of the teens high with "Dear Mr. Fantasy" by Traffic that's just as effective.
The movie condenses heavy real-life issues into a mere 74 minutes and divulges numerous truths: peer pressure to drink & do drugs, being stoned while the parents are oblivious (but the little brother KNOWS something's not right), the social divide between druggies and non-druggies, peddling, mental illness, getting clean, going straight, relapses, running away, homelessness, sexual promiscuity, prostitution and the desperation to get help.
"Go Ask Alice" conveys the awful truth of SOME youths who got addicted to drugs in the late 60s and 70s; and is still relevant in many ways to this day (e.g. the meth and heroin epidemics). The movie never suggests that EVERYONE who experiences the drug culture becomes addicted, etc. For example, I did all the alcohol/drugs shown in the movie and overdosed a few times, but never became addicted and easily quit when I was 19; yet I know friends who became addicts (including addicted to narcotics, as illustrated in the movie), died after an overdose, committed suicide, ran away or ended up in prison.
Needless to say, to argue that the movie is "sensationalist propaganda" and "lies" is absurd.
The narration is taken from Alice's diary, which helps us get to know her via her inmost thoughts and care about her welfare. She's beautiful and has so much potential. We WANT her to overcome her addiction and move on to a productive life. Can she? Will she? All I'll say about the ending is that it's potent: I was utterly floored.
THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 14 minutes and was shot at Universal City, California. WRITERS: Beatrice Sparks (book) and Ellen M. Violett (teleplay).
GRADE: B