''Perfect Body'' is a 1997 American
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
about a young gymnast who develops an
eating disorder. It originally aired on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
on September 8, 1997.
It has since aired on
Lifetime and
ABC Family and been released on DVD. The film stars former ''
Power Rangers
''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise '' Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS E ...
'' and ''
Felicity'' actress
Amy Jo Johnson
Amy Jo Johnson (born October 6, 1970) is an American actress, musician and filmmaker. As an actress, Johnson is known for her roles as Kimberly Hart on ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', Julie Emrick on '' Felicity'', and Jules Callaghan on ' ...
and gymnast/actress
Cathy Rigby who suffered from an eating disorder in her youth.
Plot
Andie Bradley (
Johnson
Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
) is a gymnast whose ambition is to participate in the
Olympics. When offered the opportunity to train with one of the leading coaches in the U.S., she gratefully accepts. This requires her to move to
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
from Portland. When she attends her first session, she is scrutinized by the coach about her weight and feels the pressure to lose the pounds. At first she adopts a sensible diet, but it soon leads to excessive
calorie restriction. When she hangs out with a fellow team member, Leslie (Tara Boger), Leslie tells her that there are ways around it and encourages her to self-induce vomiting, saying, "You can eat what you want, and not gain a pound." Andie continues restricting her calories, but when she cannot help eating due to extreme hunger, she resorts to purging methods.
Her mom notices changes in her weight, while her boyfriend and best friend also notice changes in her attitude. Andie eventually tells her best friend that she sees the changes and can't stop her behavior. She faints twice, both during competitions, and goes to the hospital, after fainting the second time, where a doctor talks to her parents about her health problems. Her parents decide that she and her mother will move back home. Refusing to leave her training, Andie runs away to the gym, where she sees a new girl being given the same lecture about her weight that was given to her. She decides that she is not ready to go back to training. After moving back to Portland, Andie joins a support group where she is encouraged to eat as part of her therapy. At the end of the movie, she is seen walking into the school gymnasium and getting back on the balance beam.
Cast
See also
*
Christy Henrich
* ''
Little Girls in Pretty Boxes
''Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters'' is a 1995 nonfiction book by ''San Francisco Chronicle'' sports writer Joan Ryan detailing the difficult training regimens endured by young women in ...
''
References
External links
*
*
1990s teen drama films
1997 television films
1997 films
Sports nutrition
Films about eating disorders
Films set in Seattle
Gymnastics films
NBC network original films
Television shows about eating disorders
Films directed by Douglas Barr
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