"The Best Little Girl In The World" is a made-for-TV movie dealing with anorexia/bulimia. While it does have that "After-School Special" feel, it features good performances from great actors. Charles Durning is excellent as always as Casey's angry, disinterested father, and Jennifer Jason Leigh really establishes herself here as a great actor. The downside to this movie? It's a bit melodramatic- for example, every time Casey stumbles from weakness a dozen horns blare from the soundtrack. And there are laughably funny moments, such as the New Year's Eve sequence, where Charles During tries to force-feed Casey peanut butter sandwiches until she gains weight. She winds up biting his hand like a snarling dog. Or when Casey takes off her robe to reveal her sickly-thin body, it's obviously a body double. But if you are looking for a movie that deals with this subject honestly and respectfully (as opposed to all those Lifetime movies in which a man is always at fault), "The Best Little Girl In The World" is worth tracking down.
Review of The Best Little Girl in the World
