Don't Say Yes When You Really Mean No!

Aimed at pre-teens and early teens, this hour-long musical about a 12-year-old girl named Jodie who has to choose between a party with her girlfriend or a party with a boy she likes (but one she knows will involve drugs and alcohol) suffers from equal amounts of overkill and oversimplification. Produced in conjunction with "Just Say No" International (whose Honorary Chairman (?) is Nancy Reagan), the tape features several musically infectious tunes which are diluted by lip-synching and group dancing edited in a fashion that suggests someone has been watching a lot of MTV but hasn't really understood how to create an effective montage of music and visuals. While the cast is comprised of students (not professionals) whose acting abilities range from limited to nil, the main character of Jodie is particularly grating. "Jodie" is the kind of kid that puts a stress on every single word of a sentence, which means that she always sounds like she's either whining or hollering--a characteristic that tends to dampen one's sympathy for her dilemma. While I certainly feel like a schmuck for razzing a tape with honorable intentions and a lot of work from a large group, a veritable cottage industry has sprung up overnight to create products to save our children from the nightmare of drug and alcohol addiction. There are simply too many similarly themed programs available which are better. An optional purchase. (Available from: "Just Say No" Video, P.O. Box 632941, Dept. M, San Diego, CA 92163.)