The main character, Tracy, is a seventh grade honors student,
but she is considered a loser and is bullied by girls in her class. She wants
to fit in and be popular, and she will do anything to achieve popularity. She
is also coping with her parents’ divorce and the fact that her father is rarely
around. Her mother is a recovering alcoholic and her mother’s boyfriend is a
recovering cocaine addict. Tracy befriends a girl named Evie who becomes an
extremely bad influence. The girls steal, do drugs together, smoke, drink,
fight, and engage in sexual behaviors with many men. Tracy gives in to peer
pressure to fit in, but she is still not happy with her life. At this point, she
is about to fail her grade and her and her mother have an awful relationship.
Along with doing drugs and drinking to cope, she starts the behavioral addictions
of self-harm and anorexia. The movie follows Tracy’s struggle as a
thirteen-year-old girl.
This video is the trailer to the film.
Because I’ve seen the movie so many times, the portrayal of
addiction no longer shocks me. However, the first time I saw this movie a few
years ago, I was extremely uncomfortable and honestly shocked. A thirteen year
old should never be engaging in the activities that Tracy was. As a teen that
went through a divorce myself, I have empathy for Tracy. Divorce is a lot to
handle without trying to fit in at school. I have extreme anger towards Evie. I
want to reach into the television and shake her. She is not only destroying her life, but she is taking Tracy down with her. Both of these girls need help from a counselor, and it hurts to know
that they are not getting the help they desperately need. Thankfully this is
just a movie, but unfortunately, girls like this do exist.
The other characters in the movie did not do much to help
Tracy’s addictions. She did not have very supporting friends. Her friends
before Evie are nowhere to be seen. Her mother can tell that there is something
wrong with her daughter, but she is too busy with her job and boyfriend to
notice how extreme the problems are. She also pushes her daughter away by
constantly yelling at her. Tracy’s mother needed to pay more attention to her
daughter and have better communication. At one point in the film, she asks
Tracy's if she ate that day. They end up fighting and Tracy’s mom does
not find out that Tracy has an eating disorder. The household also lacks discipline. Tracy's father is never around and is completely clueless. Tracy’s brother knows that she is doing drugs and drinking, but doesn’t say
anything to their mother because he is getting high with his friends too. Evie
supports and influences Tracy’s addictions.
I believe that this movie depicts addiction pretty
accurately. Many teens experiment with alcohol and drugs while giving into peer
pressure. Cutting, a behavioral
addiction is also shown in this film. Teen girls who struggle with depression
and big life changes like divorce often resort to self-harm to deal with their
emotions. Parents of teens who suffer with these addictions do not always
recognize the problems. Nothing in the movie struck me as unrealistic.
It was easy to make connections between this movie and
knowledge I learned in class and through assigned readings. The movie shows how
addictions impact all aspects of someone’s life. Addictions can affect relationships and
interfere with daily living. Tracy has weakened relationships with her family.
She is usually angry and her mother is angry with her on multiple occasions.
Tracy is struggling in many aspects. She is failing out of school and engages
in risky behaviors. We recently learned about how people, places, and things can
trigger addiction. Evie is a trigger for Tracy. At the end of the movie, Tracy
and Evie are no longer friends. This will largely help Tracy recover and turn
her life around.
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