Chill Out

"What is suicide?" asks actor Edward James Olmos (Stand and Deliver) and answers that it is "putting yourself in danger." Drinking and driving, doing drugs, joining gangs, these are all forms of "indirect suicide." Olmos offers a compelling, down-to-earth plea for adolescents to "chill out," or think before engaging in activities which could easily lead to death. Interviews with adolescents and young adults on the street about the loss of their friends offer suggestions about the signs to look for in adolescents that might signal suicidal tendencies. In addition to Olmos' talk, Monica Hylande (Guiding Light), Frank Aragon and Tony Valentino (stars of Angel Town), and Lou Diamond Phillips (Young Guns, Stand and Deliver) offer advice on the subject. Unfortunately, Hylande's speech has all of the genuine authenticity of a soap opera, and the others don't fare much better. Olmos, however, who opens and closes the program, provides an effective balance. Recommended. (See THE STORYTELLER SERIES for availability.)