''When Friendship Kills'' (also released as ''A Secret Between Friends: A Moment of Truth Movie'') is a 1996 American

made-for-television 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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

James A. Contner James Atwater Contner (born June 12, 1947) is an American film, television director and cinematographer. His work includes episodes of such television series as ''Miami Vice'', ''Angel'', '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', '' Firefly'', ''The X-File ...

. The movie is a part of the ''Moment of Truth'' franchise and deals with the danger of

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gr ...

among teens.Review summary
The New York Times

Plot

Lexi Archer is a teenager who, after the

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

of her parents, moves with her mother Kathryn and younger sister Jill from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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 ...

. At her new school, she befriends Jennifer Harnsberger, a popular straight A student whom she meets during

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

tryouts. After her volleyball coach suggests that Lexi should lose a few pounds in order to enhance her athletic performance, she starts to look for ways to diet. When Jennifer admits to being

bulimic Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eaten ...

, they decide to

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

and work out together. Kathryn notices that her daughter is eating less and becoming thinner, but she is too occupied with her divorce to realize there is a problem. Lexi becomes adept at hiding the true nature of her eating habits. Meanwhile, Lexi and Jill visit their father in Chicago and try to convince him to reunite with Kathryn, but they soon discover that he is dating a new woman, Jolene. Kathryn begins to suspect an eating disorder when she finds out that Lexi has not had her

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

in over three months. She consults a

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with ...

, but she tells her that Lexi is at a normal weight. She attributes Lexi's weight loss to the trauma of the divorce. Lexi appeared to weigh more at the doctor's because she clandestinely placed eight bundles of coins on her body to make her appear to be heavier. Meanwhile, she and Jennifer consider being models. They are excited to be contacted by Nick McKay, a

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

, but he is interested only in Jennifer and explains that Lexi is not fit to be a model. Upset, she starts to diet even more and she eventually collapses during a volleyball match. She is hospitalized, diagnosed with

and is forced to enter a recovery program. Her parents have different opinions about her treatment and start to argue. Nevertheless, she eventually recovers and is released. She admits to her mother that Jennifer has an eating disorder as well, and a worried Kathryn immediately informs Jennifer's mother. Although Pamela dismisses the possibility of her daughter having such a condition, Jennifer feels betrayed when she hears about it and refuses to speak to Lexi, for which she blames her mother. Lexi tries to confront her at a party, but a drunken Jennifer angrily leaves, only to be hit by a car. She is taken to a hospital and dies of a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

. Lexi has trouble dealing with her friend's death and relapses with her eating disorder. Devastated, her mother tries to help her, assuring her that Jennifer's death can't be blamed on her. Her father wants her to be hospitalized again, but Kathryn insists she can help Lexi herself. He is successful in getting a court order to hospitalize her, but Lexi is in the end able to recover on her own, encouraged by her mother. The film ends as Lexi participates in a volleyball match, where she sees Jen's spirit who smiles at her, and she wins the match.

Cast

Lynda Carter Lynda Jean Cordova Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss World USA 1972 and finished in the top 15 at the Miss World 1972 pageant. Carter is best known as the star of th ...

as Kathryn Archer * Katie Wright as Alexis 'Lexi' Archer *

Marley Shelton Marley Eve Shelton (born April 12, 1974) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Wendy Peffercorn in David Mickey Evans's coming-of-age comedy '' The Sandlot'' (1993), the Customer in Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez's neo-noi ...

as Jennifer 'Jen' Harnsberger *

Josh Taylor Josh or Joshua Taylor may refer to: * Josh Taylor (actor) (born 1943), American comedy and dramatic television actor * Josh Taylor (baseball) (born 1993), American professional baseball pitcher * Josh Taylor (boxer) (born 1991), Scottish profession ...

as Peter Archer *Colleen Winton as Pamela Harnsberger *Kimberley Warnat as Jill Archer *Malcolm Stewart as Mr. Harnsberger * Kevin McNulty as Ted *

Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...

as Ben Colson *

Tobias Mehler Tobias Mehler (born April 1, 1976) is a Canadian actor who has appeared in film and television productions. Career Mehler is known for playing d'Artagnan on ''Young Blades'', Zak Adama on '' Battlestar Galactica'' and Lieutenant Graham Simmons ...

as Justin Phelps *

Lochlyn Munro Lochlyn Munro (born February 12, 1966) is a Canadian actor. His most notable film roles include ''A Night at the Roxbury'' (1998), ''Scary Movie'' (2000), ''Freddy vs. Jason'' (2003), ''White Chicks'' (2004), '' The Predator'' (2018) and ''Cosm ...

as Nick McKay

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0117583, title=When Friendship Kills 1996 television films 1996 drama films 1996 films American drama television films NBC network original films Films about eating disorders Television shows about eating disorders Body image in popular culture Films directed by James A. Contner 1990s American films 1990s English-language films