The Secret Life of Zoey

"The Secret Life of Zoey" is a 2002 Lifetime TV drama starring Mia Farrow, Julia Whelan, and Cliff De Young. The movie follows the struggles of divorced parents, played by Farrow and De Young, as they attempt to save their seemingly perfect daughter (Whelan) from a secret addiction to prescription drugs.

Plot

Following the divorce of her parents, Marcia and Larry Carter (Farrow and De Young), sixteen year old Zoey Carter (Whelan) begins to experiment with drugs, stealing prescription medicine from her mother. This secret behavior goes unnoticed at first, as her good grades and volunteer work make her appear to be a model teenager. Zoey escalates to stealing cash in order to buy pills and marijuana. Her drug dealer, older student Ron Morris (Michael Coristine) gives her drugs to increase her addiction and encourages her to shoplift to buy more.

Zoey's addiction is discovered when her mother discovers a stash of pills in her backpack after a drug-induced fainting episode. Zoey is sent to drug rehab. Her first stint there gives only the appearance of success, as Zoey continues her secret behavior. After an overdose, Zoey returns to rehab, where her counselor Mike Harper (Andrew McCarthy) works with her parents to help Zoey break free of her addiction.

Principal Cast

* Mia Farrow as Marcia Carter
* Julia Whelan as Zoey Carter
* Cliff De Young as Larry Carter
* Andrew McCarthy as Mike Harper
* Michael Coristine as Ron Morris

Reception

Originally titled "On The Edge" [ cite web |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/272306/Secret-Life-of-Zoey/overview |title=Secret Life of Zoey (2002) |publisher=www.movies.nytimes.com |accessdate=2008-08-21 |last=Erickson |first=Hal ] , The Secret Life of Zoey was released in the United States on August 19, 2002 to mixed reviews. The script was viewed alternately as a fresh take on a clichéd premise, or another entrant in the mediocre teen anti-drug genre. The two female leads, Farrow and Whelan, were cited as the movie's bright spots. Whelan in particular was noted for the emotional depth and naturalness of her performance; the Orlando Sentinel's Hal Boedeker went so far as to describe her as "The sole reason to watch 'The Secret Life of Zoey'". [ cite web |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-8795424_ITM |title=Reviews of `The Secret Life of Zoey' and `Disney's Imagineers'. |publisher=The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service) (August, 2002) via www.accessmylibrary.com |date=2002-08-14 |accessdate=2008-08-21 |last=Boedeker |first=Hal ] Mia Farrow's reviews were not so universally positive, but she was nominated [ cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Prism_Awards/2003 |title=IMDb: Prism Awards: 2003 |publisher=www.imdb.com |accessdate=2008-07-24] for Best Performance in a TV movie or Miniseries at the 2003 PRISM Awards, [ cite web |url=http://prismawards.com/winners/ |title=PRISM Awards >> Winners & Nominees |publisher=www.prismawards.com |accessdate=2008-07-24] which honor outstandingly realistic depictions of drug use, drug addiction and other dependence in film and television.

External Links

*imdb title|0323495|The Secret Life of Zoey
* [http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/secret-life-zoey The Secret Life of Zoey at the Lifetime TV website]

References