Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story (1992)

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I'm going to skip the rant about how hard it was being a WASP in the nineties. If you get it, you get it; if you don't, you never will.The writing is terrible. Oh, my God, the writing is anvilicious. "Don't have sex! But if you do, please misuse condoms!" Because no, I'm sorry, you don't double-bag it; condoms are not grocery sacks. They are more likely to break if you do that. The real Ms. Gertz was direly mistaken in this respect, as her People interview shows."Positive thinking makes it better! Don't give up!" I swear if I'd been down a long, painful road like Nancy the cancer patient and some pipsqueak rich kid tried to tell me to hang on, I'd slap her stupid. Sometimes the pain is too great and death is legitimately a release.What this film does address, what it could not have escaped addressing, was the hit-or-miss nature of early AIDS treatment. Pretty much every drug available had hideous side effects; Gertz's reaction to AZT in 1989 would've hit directly after ddI was made available by the FDA to patients with just that problem -- just patients with just that problem.The film also does a decent job of portraying AIDS as a horror show, not a mild inconvenience, thus rendering it unfashionable for its target audience. No, you certainly don't want to wind up in the ICU with your mother microwaving towels just to keep you warm. Mr. and Mrs. Gertz redeem the film somewhat with their boundless love for Alison. He walks her purse dog when she's sick; she... well, she microwaved freaking sweated-through towels in an ICU too scared to bother with proper care.All the same, thank goodness we no longer classify our AIDS stories according who's more deserving of the disease (!) -- no transmission method is better than another, given the result. It doesn't matter how AIDS happens. If you have it, then you live with it and will die with it. Who are any of us to judge how you got it?

Since having seem Molly Ringwald in MALICIOUS, i've been trying to catch up with her previous work and even though this has been made for TV in 1992,it is easily available on DVD,a comment which surely can't be said for a lot of made for TV movies.While the film has been described as non jugemental, the viewer is certainly in his right to judge the character.We're not talking about a church going virgin who got married and slept with her husband who gave her aids but about a girl who slept around with 5 guys and got unlucky so no matter what she says in the film,some people will still come to the conclusion that she deserved it.I wouldn't call this film astounding.I found it highly uneven.After the first 30 minutes,it was almost like the film could have ended there,just like an afternoon after school special.The movie,however has some interesting elements and may be worth a look if you have 90 minutes to kill. When the film works,we feel the pain and the nightmare that a person struck with aids feels. i also liked what is shown to be happening in her love life,with the current boyfriend and with another potential boyfriend meeting in a bar.But after everything is said,this only remains another uneven TV movie.

I saw this film whilst recovering at home from a motorcycle accident and was engrossed in it from almost minute one. The story revolves around a girl who gets aids from a one night stand and ends up in hospital with an infection that won't heal. The story unrolls and Ringwald puts on the best performance in her career in my opinion. The story of how her family, friends and even boyfriend come to terms with her affliction is genuinely touching and a little heart wrenching at times. This is a film that should be shown to school kids ranging from 15 and up. An educational movie with lots of warnings to those who choose to be careless. The conclusion of this is warm and touching and a true tribute to the late Miss Gertz who's memory and bravery will live forever through this excellent film.

Ever since I can remember I have had a massive crush on Molly Ringwald who in this film takes on the best role of her career as Alison Gertz a truly inspirational woman who died of aids in 1992. Molly and a great supporting cast show the true devastation that this disease causes on a person with (at the time of infection) no previous sexual experience, no drug taking past and no history of blood transfusion. The best line of the film is when Alison stands up and says "look at me, i am the face of aids" showing that despite some peoples misconceptions people with aids look no different to you and me. The film makes good use of its lead characters and makes what could have easily been a typically preachy TV-movie into a viewing experience that (whilst sometimes unpleasant) is educating and informative whilst not being boring.Molly received (quite rightly) an emmy award for her acting in this film and it is easy to see why as when you view this film you feel as if you are living the experience with her and a good performer should make you feel this way during any acting performance. This tele-film has affected me in a way that no other tele-film has done before or since. It has a stellar cast (Lee Grant and Martin Landau as the parents) its doesn't preach and doesn't pretend to be something that it isn't. If this had been a big Hollywood blockbuster then the story would not have been so well told and would have been padded out. This film should be shown in schools to educate young people of the dangers of aids.What makes the film really magnificent is how it challenges people's beliefs about aids and presents a true story in a well written non-preachy and non-patronising way. Well acted and a true masterpiece thats very rare in TV-movie land.If you would like to know more about Alison Gertz and pledge your support for aids victims then please visit www.loveheals.org thanks!For the benifit of those not in the know this movie is called Fatal Love here in the u.k and is available on Odyssey video