Straight Talk

Winner of a CINE Golden Eagle award and other awards, the 3-part Straight Talk is without question one of the slickest and most appealing documentaries available on the subject of substance abuse. The three videos in 'the series ("Starting Early," "Hitting Rock Bottom," and "Getting Straight") correspond, roughly, to the stages a drug addict goes through: casual use, addiction, and recovery. Comprised of interviews with recovering teenage addicts and alcoholics, the interviewees cover a wide range of topics: abusive home life, peer pressure at school, teenage suicide, sex and drugs, rehabilitation programs, and more. The style of the presentation is pure MTV: the kids talk in sound bites, the images flash on and off in fast and slow motion, the music is a constant accompaniment to the visuals. There are some powerful stories here: Steve was a shoe-in for a football scholarship until he threw it all away on drugs; Jeffrey was a drug dealer and user that was so far gone that he beat up his own sister and then was surprised when his mother turned him over to the police; 15-yearold Tricia Schuh went to a party, took a lethal snort of cocaine, and sat in a chair dying while the party continued around her-by the time people noticed, she was dead. The problem with Straight Talk is a problem that many similar programs have: it's hard to make a really sophisticated video about substance abuse that doesn't inadvertently glorify its subject matter. And Straight Talk, with its slo-mo teen suicide sequences, is not even particularly inadvertent. Used in a group discussion or classroom situation, the series would certainly gather teens' attention and serve as a good discussion starter. Its effectiveness for individual check-out in the public library is questionable, however. Recommended, with reservations. (Available from: The Attainment Co, 504 Commerce Pkwy, Verona, WI 535931377; (800) 327-4269.)