Greetings,
I love Kellie Martin. I have loved her for over twenty years, ever since her days as Becca Thacher on Life Goes On, one of my favorite shows of all time. During her years on that show and all the years since, Kellie has more than proven herself as a great actress. Though she has shown up in a few feature films, it is most definitely her work on television that has garnered her the most success, through series and, of course, TV movies. Again, it was difficult to pick one, but there is something about this chosen one that makes it stand above all the rest. We'll get to that soon. So let's begin our discussion on A Friend to Die For . . . or Death of a Cheerleader. Yeah, here's the thing. When it aired originally, it was called A Friend to Die For, but, in later airings, up until the ones that air to this day, it is referred to as Death of a Cheerleader. Don't ask me why, but I thought I'd share both titles, so you won't miss it.
This is another one based on a true story, but the names and probably the locations were changed. And because it's true, I'll be going into more detail than usual. The film starts out with Stacey Lockwood played by Tori Spelling (groan! Sorry) knocking on the door of a house so that she can use the phone, because her friend "got a little weird". We see a lot of this from the perspective of an unknown person, then from the point of view of the man who was nice enough to drive Stacey home when she couldn't reach her parents by phone. After dropping her off and sitting in his car, he very vaguely sees the images of two people, including Stacey, then one person attacking the other, with said attacker fleeing the scene and jumping in a car. Not fully aware of what has happened, the man pursues the car of the attacker, but to no avail. Next, we see Stacey walking (somehow) to the home of a neighbor, where she tells them she's been stabbed, then collapses. After this, her parents come home to the flashing lights of ambulances and cop cars, then they are seen watching her die in surgery. Those last two scenes are, to be honest, very heart wrenching. You just can't imagine what it must be like for parents to come home to something like that. And knowing it is a true story makes it even worse.
So that was the opening, and since we know who dies within five minutes, it is not really a spoiler. The spoiler will be when I say who the killer is. And I kind of have to do that in order to truly speak on the fine acting performances. Plus, it's revealed pretty early on.
Okay, after that, we go back in time ten months to a living Stacey surrounded by her friends in a high school auditorium. And many rows back, we see Angela Delvecchio played by Kellie Martin sitting next to her friend Jill. It is in this scene where it's established that this high school is very, very dedicated teaching the kids to have a competitive edge in order "to be the best". No, seriously, the principal literally makes the student body shout out these four words. And who is the man telling them to do this? It is Principal Ed Saxe played by - wait for it! - Terry O'Quinn! That's right. Ten years before he was John Locke of Lost, he was a high school principal. Way to go, Terry. And he's not the only familiar face we see.
When we get a look at Angela's home life, we meet her sister, Terri, played by a pre-Drew Carey Show, Christa Miller, and their mother, played by the iconic Valerie Harper. Mrs. Delvecchio is clearly a very religious woman, constantly practicing her Catholic faith, and this does slightly play a part in the film.
The first half of this movie is centered around Angela's desperate attempt at popularity, which, especially in high school, can run a person's life. She wants to work on the school paper, be a cheerleader and join a "prestigious" club. She does succeed at that last one, but still remains an outcast even within the group. She feels as though all the work she has been doing has been for nothing, and becomes even more desperate for acceptance.
One night, Angela devises a plan to get Stacey to go to a party with her, in the hopes of winning her friendship and, in turn, the popularity she intensely craves. Things do not go as planned, though, as Stacey gets angry, calling Angela weird, and storming from the car. At this point, Angela begins to develop a massive fear that Stacey will convince everyone to turn against her and begins to follow the car in which she is riding. Now we see that Angela was the person watching in the shadows in the opening, and that she, in a fit of rage, is the one who stabbed Stacey. Afterward, she flees home, cleans the knife and breathes deeply in fear and realization of what she just did.
The second half of the film is full of the students and the town speculating about what happened and who may be the killer. Most of them believe it to be a girl named Monica who was clearly the greatest outcast in the school and the favorite target of Stacey and her friends. It also raises questions about the aforementioned obsession that both the school and town have with being the best. This entire time Angela is racked with guilt and terrified to tell anyone. She, like a lot of students, is questioned by the police, one of whom is played by James Avery (Hi, Uncle Phil!). They come to realize she is guilty but cannot prove it. In the end, Angela confesses, first to her mother in a letter, then to the police. And the scene where her mother finds and reads the letter is breathtaking. Kellie Martin is reading the contents of the letter in a voice over, while we see Valerie Harper silently reading it. Just the look in her eyes as she reads and the cry to her husband as she finishes is enough to break your heart.
Despite her confession, Angela is put on trial, since the prosecution wants her to be convicted of first degree murder, though the punishment is the same for second. The defense attorney shows that it was an crime of passion and not premeditated, therefore, Angela is sentenced to confinement until the age of 25. And that is where we end.
Let me make it clear that I speak on this story strictly from the perspective of what is shown in this movie. I know these "characters" are based on real people, so whatever I said about them, what they felt, how they behaved, their motivations, has nothing to do with those real life people. I don't know about who they truly were and are, so I cannot speak on that. Here, I am simply commenting on how they were portrayed in the film.
I know I gave away a lot about this movie here, but I think it's all right, since the reveal comes early, and you can probably guess the outcome. Still, it is definitely worth the watch. It's a movie that can certainly get your attention and keep it. You might find moments of melodrama, but the story is so well portrayed by Kellie, Valerie and a lot of the rest of the cast, it can be overlooked.
So be on the look out for either A Friend to Die For or Death of a Cheerleader, because, with either title, it is one to be watched.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
