A Friend to Die For (1994)

When popular and beautiful cheerleader Stacey is stabbed to death, who could have done it? It could have been asocial Goth girl Monica, it could've been angst-ridden Jill - or maybe it was the plain girl nobody suspected.

Director:

William A. Graham

Writers:

Randall Sullivan (article), Randall Sullivan (story)

Stars:

Kellie Martin, Tori Spelling, James Avery

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kellie Martin	...	Angela Delvecchio
Tori Spelling	...	Stacy Lockwood
James Avery	...	Agent Gilwood
Eugene Roche	...	Priest
Andy Romano	...	Joe Delvecchio
Margaret Langrick	...	Jill Anderson
Marley Shelton	...	Jamie Hall (as Marlee Shelton)
Kathryn Morris	...	Monica Whitley
Terry O'Quinn	...	Ed Saxe
Valerie Harper	...	Mrs. Delvecchio
Christa Miller	...	Terri
Brittney Powell	...	Head Cheerleader
Tom O'Rourke	...	Mr. Lockwood
Marnie Andrews	...	Mrs. Lockwood
Jenna Leigh Green	...	Meridith Ladd (as Jenna J. Leigh)

Storyline

Angela Delvecchio for some reason transfers from a Catholic school to a public school in the same town. She proceeds to try to make friends with the most popular girl in school which leads to tragedy. Based on a true story.

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Plot Keywords:

school | high school | cheerleader | clique | peer pressure | 

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Taglines:

At high school, failure can be fatal.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Death Of A Cheerleader

Filming Locations:

Church of the Angels - 1100 Avenue 64, Pasadena, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Steve White Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tori Spelling and Kellie Martin had previously co-starred in the 1989 film Troop Beverly Hills (1989).

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Goofs

In the first shot of Angela and Jill, Angela's bangs are on her forehead. In the next, they are brushed to the side.

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Quotes

Stacy Lockwood: [caught reading Monica's diary aloud to her friends] Hi, Monica. We're just feeling out the texture of your prose.

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Connections

References Reckless (1984)

User Reviews

Will society ever learn?

No, this is not the most unique film about bullying, alienation and violence in high schools today. But this film is acceptable when you note the hypocrisy of an American community when confronted with its demons. The prosecution admittedly pursued the death penalty in a case where it was not even applicable, to feed the PR flames and incite headlines across America.

If the underlying theme had been more developed, there was a much more important story to be conveyed here. Other than the obvious, Angela Delvecchio (Kellie Martin) as the odd girl out, desperately attempting to be popular (Unfortunately, her parents and teachers never told her this would cease to matter in 2 years anyway), with Tori Spelling as the "popular girl" for that year. They may have picked a more sympathetic victim other than Spelling.

There is a brief role for Terry O'Quinn, as the pretentious principal; babbling about Santa Maria excellence and perfection. We see his dismissal of Delvecchio (Martin) and how important his approval and praise was for her.

Andy Romano and Valerie Harper portray Angela Delvecchio's parents, and paint a realistic picture of the community's hypocrisy- everyone in America wants to succeed, have a bigger house, drive a foreign car, and this all ties in with being a popular cheerleader in Delvecchio's mind, at least.

Kellie Martin is a sympathetic character, and does quite well projecting Delvecchio's despair. Maybe they should produce a follow-up movie, to see if things have changed in that particular school. Other films have more accurately dissected teen violence: "Bully", "Elephant" and "Bang, bang, you're dead", for example. But this film still deserves credit for addressing some of the less popular notions in America today: that something is amiss, values are distorted, and kids are being affected by this.