''You Ruined My Life'' is a 1987

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 ...

directed by David Ashwell.

Plot

''You Ruined My Life'' is about 11-year-old Minerva (

Soleil Moon Frye Soleil Moon Frye (; born August 6, 1976) is an American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. She began her career as a child actress at the age of two. When she was seven, Frye won the role of Penelope "Punky" Brewster in the NBC sitco ...

), a girl who lives in a

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

casino with her Uncle Howie (

Allen Garfield Allen Garfield (born Allen Goorwitz; November 22, 1939 – April 7, 2020) was an American film and television actor. Early life Garfield was born in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family, the son of Alice (née Lavroff) and Philip Goorwitz. H ...

), who spoils her by giving her everything she wants. Minerva gets into trouble and her strict Aunt Hermione ( Edith Fields) threatens to take her away. Dexter (

Paul Reiser Paul Reiser (; born March 30, 1956) is an American actor, comedian, and television writer. He is known for his roles as Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom ''My Two Dads'', Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom ''Mad About You'', Modell in the 1982 fi ...

), a clever mathematics professor, finds out a foolproof way to cheat and win in blackjack, but he is caught. Dexter is burdened with a gigantic gambling debt. Uncle Howie makes sure Dexter tutors Minerva so she can gain admissions into a private school. It takes a while for this arrangement to work out between Dexter and Minerva, but finally they make great strides and Minerva amazingly learns everything very quickly. She runs away by herself to take the exam and pass. Meanwhile, Dexter and Uncle Howie's assistant Charlotte (

Mimi Rogers Miriam Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American actress. Her notable film roles are '' Gung Ho'' (1986), '' Someone to Watch Over Me'' (1987), ''Desperate Hours'' (1990), and '' Full Body Massage'' (1995). She garnered the gre ...

) fall in love.

External links

* 1987 television films 1987 films 1980s English-language films 1987 comedy films ABC network original films Disney television films Films set in the Las Vegas Valley {{US-tv-film-stub