We’ve Had Our Fill Of Bulimia Movies
Each year at least two TV movies focus on the nightmarish disorder bulimia. Tracey Gold and Meredith Baxter each have taken turns binging and purging for the camera. Crystal Bernard steps into the role in “Dying to Be Perfect: The Ellen Hart Pena Story,” Sunday at 9 on ABC.
Pena (Bernard) was a top runner whose dreams of attending the Olympics were dashed by the eating disorder. She eventually marries the man of her dreams, Frederico Pena (Esai Morales), then Denver’s mayor; currently U.S. Secretary of Transportation. But the disorder continues, and she nearly hurts the health of her unborn child.
As you can guess, the movie borders more on being a how-to primer than an insightful look at how to treat the disorder. The movie prefers to detail Ellen’s finely tuned skills at sneaking binges.
She’s quite good at sneaking. After years of sharing apartments, only one roommate comments about Ellen’s eating behavior. The roommate complains that Ellen ate all of her ice cream.
The villain in the movie seems to be Ellen’s mother (Shirley Knight). She knew her daughter was suffering, but she never said anything. Her mom had hoped that the purging during visits home from college was just a phase.
Even Ellen’s husband - naive and useless - shrugs off the disorder by telling her “you’re strong.” He assumes his words of encouragement did the trick even though he continues to be unable to find any chips or dip around the house.
The moral of the story is bulimia will put your life in the toilet. But we knew that already. Couldn’t this tell us something new?
Highlights
“Bob Hope … Laughing With the Presidents,” NBC tonight at 8: Say thanks to Bob Hope for the memories. This special chronicles Hope’s remarkable relationships with 11 presidents, starting with FDR, through reminiscences and vintage clips. Packed into this hour is Hope’s inimitable style of delivering rib-tickling one-liners.
“The Cotton Incorporated Gold Championship,” NBC tonight at 9: Halifax, Nova Scotia, is the setting for this skating competition featuring gold medalists Oksana Baiul, Kristi Yamaguchi, Katarina Witt, Viktor Petrenko, Brian Boitano and Scott Hamilton.
“In Cold Blood” (1996), CBS Sunday and Tuesday at 9: Truman Capote’s chilling psychological novel, based on a 1959 murder in Kansas, has been turned into a creepy, hypnotic four-hour-long tale. What it lacks in suspense (which the 1967 movie had loads of), it makes up for with acting and strong characterizations.
Anthony Edwards and Eric Roberts play ex-cons determined to rob a wealthy farm family. Part 1 intermixes scenes of Edwards and Roberts driving to the Clutters’ farm with images of the family’s nearly idyllic life - which is as innocent as baking a cherry pie and gets as racy as a good night kiss from a boyfriend.
Edwards and Roberts send chills up and down your spine as their conversations reveal how Edwards’ character is pure evil. Roberts’ Perry Smith is a weak and impressionable aspirin-popping criminal tortured by a troubled childhood.
“Maverick” (1994), NBC Sunday at 8:30: Mel Gibson steps into the role of the infamous card shark from the ‘60s TV series in this cameo-filled tale. James Garner, who played the role of Maverick on the small screen, co-stars as a lawman.
“Nova,” KSPS Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at 7: Three-part “Odyssey of Life” is a visual masterpiece from photographer Lennart Nilsson. He brings microscopic images to life in Part 1 where he traces the development of fetuses in humans and other animals.
Parents’ Pick
“Loch Ness” (1996), ABC tonight at 8: Here’s a dandy love story set against the search for the legendary Loch Ness monster.
Ted Danson plays washed-up zoologist Jonathan Dempsey who wants to disprove the legend. His arrival in Loch Ness, Scotland, (where the movie was filmed) is greeted with hostility. Soon he’s charmed by the locals and begins to believe there may actually be a monster.
Young Kirsty Graham as Isabel steals the show with her sweetness and intelligence.