This time she has Hollywood stars including Jamie Lee Curtis, lots of great music, much higher quality cinematography, scripting, everything. She has advanced light years technically. She has also focused on just one area – drug abuse – rather than the entire constellation of woes that cause people to become homeless as she did in “River’s Edge.” I truly enjoyed “River’s Edge” because it was so expansive, and the technical glitches were of minor importance.

Paul Meade, one of the men portrayed in “River’s Edge,” plays himself with a younger version presented by Chris Quaranta. We see in flashback, using black and white imagery, how Paul came from an alcoholic, abandoning family, leading him down a definite path starting in 1961 in Dunlow, WV, jumping to getting caught drinking on a military base in 1974, a woman breaking his heart in Colorado in 1976, a drunk driving arrest in 1982, and finally hitting bottom in Huntington.

William Webb, a local expert on drug abuse, presents most of the information on the biological facts of abuse, showing how the “chronic disease” paradigm is the one he uses.

Everyone knows someone like Meade, and has seen the devastation that it causes for an entire family. Thanks to Jamie Lee Curtis’ positive attitude, viewers may also learn that the devastation can be stopped – just as it can for many other diseases now widely considered curable.

This film could be used in community groups, schools (with maybe one or two words bleeped), and any number of other situations. Ms. Karle and her producer/guru mother Tony have made a wonderful second film that hopefully will help many others find help we all need at some time.

If you are interested in showing the film, contact Ms. Francesca Karle at – karle2@marshall.edu.