GOOD anti-drug films for teenagers

October 16, 2005 8:43 PM

Are there any films, suitable for "cool" teenagers (14-17 years) which carry an anti-drug message but at the same time aren't absolute crap?

The anti-drug thing doesn't have to be central to the film, as long as the central characters don't get some of their "cool" from taking drugs, nor does the film have to be ABOUT teenagers, as long as it's suitable for them to watch and - very importantly - enjoy. I guess the sort of film I'm after is something like "Garden State" without the ecstasy-taking (or with the ecstasy being EXPLICITLY frowned-upon).

posted by bunglin jones to media & arts (61 comments total)

How would Garden State sans ecstasy, be anti-drug, rather than just... a movie neither for nor against drugs? It seems that most movies would fall into that category, i.e., Jurassic Park does not have an anti-drug message, but it is not pro-drug.
posted by odinsdream at 8:48 PM on October 16, 2005

How about Requiem for a Dream? That scared the crap out of me.
posted by gramcracker at 8:50 PM on October 16, 2005

Less Than Zero?
posted by sueinnyc at 8:51 PM on October 16, 2005

Requiem for a Dream, director's cut. Should be required viewing for any teenager even considering hard drugs.
posted by Rothko at 8:51 PM on October 16, 2005

Trainspotting?
Drugstore Cowboy?
Traffic?
Leaving Las Vegas?
posted by box at 8:53 PM on October 16, 2005

Trainspotting.
posted by nomad at 8:57 PM on October 16, 2005

The basketball diaries?
posted by wilful at 8:59 PM on October 16, 2005

Trainspotting.

I am a teenager, if that helps, and I think either that or Requiem for a Dream would do the trick. Hell, do both.

The thing is, these movies are actually amusing to watch, and don't preach "Hey, look, drugs are bad", which is the worst way to dissuade anyone of doing anything.
posted by phrontist at 9:00 PM on October 16, 2005

Of course people beat me to Requiem for a Dream. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

So I'll mention Dead Ringers.
posted by Aknaton at 9:11 PM on October 16, 2005

Totally Trainspotting. Scared the crap out of me. Also - what everyone else here said. Plus: The Man With the Golden Arm (maybe not current enough), Permanent Midnight, Kids, Salton Sea, Spun.
posted by luriete at 9:14 PM on October 16, 2005

It depends on the viewer too much. Drugstore Cowboy, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Pulp Fiction, Scarface, Easy Rider, even Cheech and Chong or Half-Baked could all be considered anti-drug films for showing the negative effect of drug abuse, or they could be an excuse to get high. Regardless, I don't think you should be expecting movies to teach mores--except, of course, for Gummo.
posted by glibhamdreck at 9:24 PM on October 16, 2005

But drugs are good for me!

This question is sort of like asking for a "cool" film that's anti-rock-music-the-kids-seem-to-like or anti-those-big-pants-kids-wear-now.

That said, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a very good way to show kids what horrible things will happen to you if you do drugs, if that's your bag.
posted by zerolives at 9:24 PM on October 16, 2005

Two possible problems with Requiem:

1) You might not consider it suitable for a 14 year old.

2) While it is a very good film, I wouldn't consider it "enjoyable" at all.
posted by cloeburner at 9:25 PM on October 16, 2005

Requiem for a Dream was complete schlock and has dangerously non-factual pieces. A savvy teenager would see through the flimsy "drugs are bad, mkay?" message and mock any "anti-drug message" that it may contain. Jennifer Connolly or no Jennifer Connolly.

Trainspotting is a fun flick with some short shots of soft bits (male and female). Also shows the dangers of heroin abuse without glorifying it (and makes a nice nod to the "acceptability" of alcohol.

I'd say Kids but I'm not sure that it's appropriate for teenagers. Deals with the dangers of unprotected sex, drug abuse, and to a lesser extend poverty and lack of education. I don't have a teenaged kid, but if I did and the situation presented itself that my child view this while a teenager, I'd want to view the film with them and be available to discuss the stuff in it afterwards (and beyond).
posted by PurplePorpoise at 9:26 PM on October 16, 2005

I'd suggest that Trainspotting glorifies drug use, or at least apologizes for its users in a very hip, romanticized way. Aronofsky's Requiem hyper-hip approach borders on pointed satire of the Trainspotting genre and its ilk.
posted by Rothko at 9:31 PM on October 16, 2005

as long as the central characters don't get some of their "cool" from taking drugs

...which would sort of strike Trainspotting from the list, wouldn't it? I mean it is, taken as a whole, a film that shows the negative side of heroin use, but Renton clearly gets some of his "cool" from shooting up, no matter what the final resolution may be. I can't remember if the film explicitly says this, but in the book, Renton thinks "Why do we do it? Because it feels good. If it didn't, we wouldn't do it, would we?" I would agree that a film like this presents a pretty honest depiction of drug use, but it's no fairyland where the "central character" is cool without drug use.
posted by Jimbob at 9:34 PM on October 16, 2005

Blow? (and the other one from the same era--what was it called? Not Powder, but some other one-word title.)
Over the Edge?
The Kid Stays in the Picture?
Goodfellas?

And a problem with many of the films that people have mentioned (myself included)--if the movie's about drugs, it's going to make them look cool, at least to certain segments of the viewing public, or for the first reel or whatnot.

On preview: what Jimbob said, except less articulately.
posted by box at 9:42 PM on October 16, 2005

Traffic is perfect for this.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 9:43 PM on October 16, 2005

I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for... Requiem for a Dream, Spun, and Trainspotting all come to mind, when it comes to depicting hard drug use as a unique form of hell, but these are all umm... real graphic.

but it sounds like you might just want normal movies, not anti-drug ones...
posted by I Love Tacos at 9:46 PM on October 16, 2005

I'd suggest that Trainspotting glorifies drug use, or at least apologizes for its users in a very hip, romanticized way.

I'd reply that in order to have any credibility at all in saying "Drugs Are Bad, m'kay?" one must first acknowledge that doing drugs can also seem to be hip, cool, romantic, and glorious.

But I defy anyone who watches the film to remember anything other than the baby. That's the image that sticks with you for years.
posted by anastasiav at 9:53 PM on October 16, 2005

Sorry - odinstream is right - "Garden State" without the e WOULDN'T fit into the category at all, but "Garden State" with the e-use being condemned quite definitely would. I realise that this is difficult category to fill. I'm asking here (for a friend) because the only good films about drugs that I could think of were either too honest about the issue (i.e. showed the fact that drugs are really, really, really good fun as well as potentially dangerous) or just a little bit too over-the-top with scare tactics (e.g. "Requiem" which is very frightening but, I think, SO extreme as to seem unrealistic to a suburban kid)
posted by bunglin jones at 9:54 PM on October 16, 2005

ooh - what about Boogie Nights?
posted by forallmankind at 9:55 PM on October 16, 2005

If the teenagers in question are particularly appreciative of foreign/classic film, they might enjoy Kurosawa's High and Low, which details some the less enjoyable aspects of heroin abuse.
posted by cloeburner at 9:56 PM on October 16, 2005

Requiem for a Dream was complete schlock

What utter nonsense. :)

How about The Panic in Needle Park?

And in my opinion, Trainspotting and Drugstore Cowboy both make the drug takers seem cool and aren't "anti" drug as a result.
posted by dobbs at 9:58 PM on October 16, 2005

See all these are movies about Hollywood's version of drug use. Some people do manage to live a somewhat healthy life even with hard drug use. The problem is, when these kids get into drugs they see these people who use hard drugs occasionally and think they can be them (look at the amount of coke and heroin coming in and look at the amount of people who are non-functional members of society, someone needs to be picking up the slack).

Thus I recommend whole-heartedly Dope Sick Love. I don't know about appropriateness but it definitely shows the mentality of junkies in need. They simply don't realize they need to stop using to get out. All those other films just seem too Hollywood to carry a message. People don't go from casual user to junkie in several months. It's hard to explain this documentaries but it shows the extremes and the vicious circle of abusers. If you and your girlfriend start justifying prostitution in order to get enough money to get out of the lifestyle, and you find yourself goin apeshit over $5 of crack -- you probably need help.

There's no real anti-drug message, they just follow around some NYC junkies. I don't remember outright nudity but the straight male becomes a gay prostitute and the scene pans away -- but you have to be incredibly naive to not realize they're not giving a blowjob.
posted by geoff. at 9:59 PM on October 16, 2005

Maria Full of Grace is a movie about coke mules. In Spanish w/ subtitles, but very good and not preachy.
posted by strikhedonia at 10:02 PM on October 16, 2005

It doesn't matter really whether Requiem is schlock because it has so much shock value. I saw it when I was 15, and (not that I was considering heroin before) it was a "holy [feces], eff that!" reaction for me. That movie just makes me sad, and want to shower. Thus, use it.
posted by weaponsgradecarp at 10:07 PM on October 16, 2005

Well, the trouble with what you're saying is that propaganda without being truthful can push a kid in the wrong direction. If a kid finds out you're BSing him about the harms of marijuana, he's gonna think you're BSing him about the harms of meth, one drug that's hard to overstate the troubles of.

I personally suggest looking into documentaries, actual experiences of real drug users. If you want to scare the crap out of the kids, show them meth addicts. It's not quite as catching at first, but it's real, and that hits home.

Hollywood is no place to go for a moral lesson.
posted by Saydur at 10:07 PM on October 16, 2005

The Corner. It's six-episode miniseries, based on real people and events.

The bleak reality of drug addiction is captured with unflinching authenticity in The Corner, an excellent, reality-based HBO miniseries. Having lived on the streets of West Baltimore, Maryland, where this compelling drama takes place, actor-director Charles S. Dutton knows the territory, physically, socially, and emotionally, and his compassionate approach is vital to the series' success. Dutton cares for his characters deeply enough to give them a realistic shred of hope, even when hope is consistently dashed by the ravages of addiction. This is, at its root, a family tragedy, focusing on errant father Gary (T.K. Carter, in a heartbreaking performance) a once-successful investor trapped in a tailspin of heroin dependency. His estranged wife Fran (Khandi Alexander) was the first to get hooked, and she's struggling to get clean, while their 15-year-old son DeAndre (Sean Nelson, from the indie hit Fresh) deals drugs, temporarily avoiding their deadly allure while facing the challenge of premature fatherhood.
posted by letitrain at 10:14 PM on October 16, 2005

13
posted by RoseovSharon at 10:15 PM on October 16, 2005

Maria Full of Grace is about heroin mules, not coke mules. It doesn't really have an anti-drug message as much as showcasing the plight of Columbians and really the desperation to get into the US.

It's even got a lot of criticism as most women who are heroin mules are tricked into doing so. This film doesn't really make you as sympathetic because we get the feeling the main character knows what they are doing is dangerous and bad and are being paid handsomely for it. Gripping moving nonetheless.

I should say that any HBO documentary about drug use you can get your hands on will be great. Their alcohol ones for teenagers really suck though ("This teen got really trashed and did something incredibly stupid, he'll probably die"). They don't teach responsible drinking and instead go for an all out scare tactics. Yeah surgery and major traumas are pretty gruesome, we get it.
posted by geoff. at 10:16 PM on October 16, 2005

I'd also add that there's a definite thrill to standing on the edge of a precipice, so showing the ill effects of drug use may not be the deterrent you were hoping for. When I was a teenager I thought dying young and tragically was the coolest thing ever. Luckily I wasn't that cool.
posted by cali at 10:17 PM on October 16, 2005

Sid and Nancy.
posted by planetkyoto at 10:20 PM on October 16, 2005

Requiem for a Dream and Less than Zero were the two that immediately came to mind.

But like a few people have mentioned, would a movie featuring the ass to ass guy be considered suitable?
posted by uncanny hengeman at 10:26 PM on October 16, 2005

midnight express?
posted by forallmankind at 10:27 PM on October 16, 2005

Well, there's nothing like the 1973 documentary Manson to show the dark side of the psychedelic wonderland. Might discourage them from becoming maniacal killers too.
posted by extrabox at 10:34 PM on October 16, 2005

Training Day depicts a dealer as an amoral old fart, users as knucklehead college kids, and has a scene of Snoop Dogg getting shaken down, and vomiting up crack rocks he tried to hide from the cops.
posted by evil holiday magic at 10:41 PM on October 16, 2005

Requiem IS schlock. =)

Trainspotting -

Everyone in the story who uses heroin ends up paying for it. Other than Sickboy (well, his baby DIES). Renton gets fucked up and the law drops on his ass. The stringy-blonde-haired guy gets HIV, AIDS subsequently, and loses his gf (mostly because his friends are junkies and lack of empathy that arises from the mindset - he wouldn't've turned to H if his close friends weren't able to offer easy sources). Spuds is just fucked over - it's in Renton's character to help Spud, but Spud is still a loser. How long would a (thin) wad of cash last? Bigby - the one guy who doesn't shoot up - is a violent drunk and a complete loser. I've known many like him and the outcome in the film is not dissimilar to the vast majority of the outcome of my former aquaintences.

If you're watching Trainspotting with your kids, try to figure out how much money Renton walked away with. How long will that last, with rent, food, minimal entertaintment... A few year? Less? It's not enough to invest and live off of the divendends. It's implied that Renton's character is going to blow it living "middle class" and then...

Sickboy probably got fucked when Bigby bargains (with the law). Spuds is going to keep on being a loser regardless of the couple thou (if that) that Renton gave him. Bigby, the violent drunk, does more damage to society - in the film - than any of the junkies. Yeah, a baby died but that doesn't compare to the alcohol-derived violence and greed-derived violence that came from Bigby.

Trainspotting does not glorify drug use. If anyone took the story from Trainspotting as "drug use = cool," they're simply stupid - and as a parent watching a movie with a teenager, could point out the salient points (and I suspect that the teenegers will go "yeah, yeah, you're so fucking OBVIOUS, like, the family went drinking at the pub, right? ... and what about pot? Pot smoking resulted in the LEAST amount of harm in the entire movie and actually helped one of the characters (Libby) realize that H was a loser's game and that (from Libby's pov) alcohol was stupid.

Requiem was a purile waste of film and of my time. Yes, the consequences of using heroin was depicted as very very terrible in the film, but utterly and entirely unrealistic. So unrealistic as to associate it with "Reefer Madness" hysteria films. Sure, pure-as-driven-snow teens may go "<gasp> "drugs are bad" but teens (in generak) are a little more savvy than that.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 11:11 PM on October 16, 2005

Avenging Disco Godfather starring Rudy Ray Moore!

"A retired cop becomes a DJ/celebrity at the Blueberry Hill disco-- he's the "Disco Godfather!" All is well until his nephew flips out on a strange new drug that's sweeping the streets, called "angel dust," or PCP. Disco Godfather vows "to personally come down on the suckers that's producing this shit!" He takes to the streets, slaps drug dealers and even exposes a crooked cop that is covering for the dealers. In between, he still finds time to manage the Blueberry Hill and perform. "Put a little slide in yo' glide," he pleads to the patrons, "Put some weight on it!" Disco Godfather tracks down the kingpin that is behind all the angel dust production, but not before he is kidnapped and forced to inhale PCP through a gas mask!"

I saw it like a 100 times when I was that age!!
posted by Quartermass at 11:28 PM on October 16, 2005

Aknaton: Dead Ringers? Wow. It certainly is a very disturbing movie that features drugs. In fact, it's without a doubt the most disturbing movie I've ever seen. But anti-drug message?

I don't know. Seems to me the drug use is a manifestation of the sheer fuckedupness of the characters. If nothing else, I took away from Dead Ringers that I shouldn't be a gynocologist, especially if I have a twin who depends on me for his social life.
posted by brundlefly at 11:30 PM on October 16, 2005

The Harder They Come is a classic. While not specifically a drug movie, the protagonist does get sucked into dealing and it contributes to his eventual downfall. Soundtrack is dope, also.
posted by annihilist at 11:45 PM on October 16, 2005

One good one nobody's mentioned so far, unless I missed it, is a movie called Gridlock'd. It has Tim Roth and Tupac as heroin junkies who are trying to get clean. Don't remember the specifics too well, since I saw it a long time ago, but I remember it was good, and definitely not in a glorifying-drug-use kind of way.
posted by number9dream at 11:56 PM on October 16, 2005

Trainspotting does not glorify drug use. If anyone took the story from Trainspotting as "drug use = cool," they're simply stupid -

It ain't a novel, for chrissakes. It's a movie. It uses nifty camera angles/tricks, editing, rock music (Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop--not exactly people known for their anti-drug messages), good looking actors and countless other things to "look cool". If you can't see this, you're in denial (or, to use your own words, "simply stupid").

Yes, one can watch and decide that the story says drugs are bad but it's pretty obvious (hell, just look at the ad campaign or the poster) that the filmmaker was trying to tell his story in a cool way even if it wasn't pro-drug. Your argument that it's not is very weak. It's like saying John Woo movies have people getting shot/killed so they are obviously giving an anti-violence message. That argument ignores everything except the story. Movies are a lot more than story, especially movies as skillfully put together as Danny Boyle's.
posted by dobbs at 12:07 AM on October 17, 2005

Permanent Midnight probably gives the most meaningful look at heroin addiction and how it can alter a person's life negatively. It is, however, pretty much explicately about drugs and addiction.

As for characters getting their cool from drugs, glibhamdreck makes a decent point. Cheech and Chong and Hunter S. Thompson are role models for some, while for others they stand as shining examples of how not to live life.

Really though, you're going to be hard pressed to find a hardline anti-drug movie that is also cool. Honesty is cool and drugs are not strictly bad.
posted by Matt Oneiros at 12:47 AM on October 17, 2005

If anyone took the story from Trainspotting as "drug use = cool," they're simply stupid

I thought it was cool when the normally violent Begbie took a disco biscuit and was all happy and smiling-like in the club.

/at least I think that’s what happened I’ve only seen the movie once and it was a long time ago and I think I was drunk and I can’t remember if it’s stated or just implied that he took a disco biscuit so I could be completely wrong.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 1:52 AM on October 17, 2005

Basketball Diaries. It's not an amazing film, but it's entertaining and more suitable for a 14-17yr old than Trainspotting. And it's definitely anti-drugs.
posted by fire&wings at 3:27 AM on October 17, 2005

I'd recommend Spun. It's a "cool" movie about speed/meth but it's more emotionally managable than Requiem for a Dream (which is pretty soul-crushing and extreme, despite it's ham-fisted moralizing).
posted by Jon-o at 3:58 AM on October 17, 2005

I would definitely warn that anyone expecting to have drug-free kids solely on the basis of "Here kid, watch this." probably has a lot more parenting to do.

/parents were ex-hippies
//mom encouraged me to try pot
///have never done drugs in my life
////i read fark too much
posted by softlord at 4:23 AM on October 17, 2005

Trainspotting: Which was coolest? When Renton crawled into the filthiest toilet in Scotland to retrieve his suppositories? When Renton had a massive comedown and saw the baby crawling across the ceiling? When Spud shat himself all over his girlfriends bed? When Tommy died of HIV after being too fucked up too clean up his kitten's shit? Glamourised my arse.

PurplePurpoise: There is a follow-up novel for Trainspotting, Porno, where Renton had moved to Amsterdam and used the money to get set-up and was working for a living.
posted by biffa at 4:29 AM on October 17, 2005

Star Trek: Generations. Doing drugs may lead you to blow up an entire planet.
posted by about_time at 4:56 AM on October 17, 2005

Pulp fiction. Most of the other films people have mentioned are anti-addiction, not necessarily anti-drug. In pulp fiction, a non-addict nearly dies from a drug overdose.
posted by malp at 5:47 AM on October 17, 2005

All my suggestions for films have been covered but I'll also throw in that drama is much better at asking questions than giving answers. If the film has a specific answer/message baked in (e.g. you can say "and the moral of the story is...") that's exactly the thing that makes it seem hokey. You want films that ask the right questions, not films that give the answers that you want.
posted by winston at 6:19 AM on October 17, 2005

I'm by no means conservative, but I don't think that Requiem is appropriate for a 14-year old. Too difficult to be enjoyable and just too graphic, especially at the end -- I wouldn't want to be the one who introduced teenagers to the concept of whoring via a public performance of "ass-to-ass."

On a completely different tack, when I was thirteen, my best friend and I loved "Robin Williams Live at the Met." His rendition of the behavior/thought process of coke-users (based entirely on his own experience, of course) got the message across better than any drama could have.
posted by desuetude at 6:44 AM on October 17, 2005

I haven't seen it in years, and it's not really a teenage oriented movie, but The Boost is a good film and VERY effective. I don't recall it being outrageously profane or shocking.
posted by Heminator at 6:59 AM on October 17, 2005

I saw Trainspotting as a teenager and I thought the characters were unbelievably cool. I don't think I took away any message about drugs. All you Trainspotting= anti-drug people make a good point about the film including negative depictions of what heroin addiction does to people, but just because you came away with the horrifying images from the film burned into your heads, don't assume that everyone else will feel the same way.

When I saw Trainspotting, I had never tried drugs. I don't think it influenced me one way or another, but a year or two later I did begin to experiment (with pot and hallucinogens, not heroin, admittedly).

Teenagers don't always have the most realistic world view. They get caught up in their own pain, misery and depression, but don't always have a lot of empathy for others. The images of bliss and escape, and the fact that heroin gave the characters a huge confidence boost, stuck in my mind much more strongly than the dead baby. When the guy shat in the bed, I remember thinking, "That's gross," not "Drugs are bad." I don't even remember anyone getting arrested, so obviously that didn't make an impression.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas made me want to do more drugs, not fewer.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 9:11 AM on October 17, 2005

10 Things I Hate About You features alcohol use, but all the people who use it are dicks, and when the main character gets drunk, she's doing it to escape her pain and she ends up making a huge fool of herself. If these teenagers are girls, they might just like it.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:38 AM on October 17, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

Not a movie, but Tivo a few episodes of the A&E series Intervention. It's keeping me off drugs.
posted by clh at 11:23 AM on October 17, 2005

PurplePorpoise: Requiem was a puerile waste of film and of my time. Yes, the consequences of using heroin was depicted as very very terrible in the film, but utterly and entirely unrealistic. So unrealistic as to associate it with "Reefer Madness" hysteria films. Sure, pure-as-driven-snow teens may go "[gasp] drugs are bad" but teens (in general) are a little more savvy than that.

Could you elaborate a bit on the ways in which the movie was unrealistic? The author of the novel on which the movie was based, Hubert Selby Jr., had been a heroin user himself.

What scares me are the crack users near the Main Street Skytrain station in Vancouver -- the ones who have been trying to dig imaginary insects out of their faces.
posted by russilwvong at 12:18 PM on October 17, 2005

midnight express?

Yeah, seconded, and there's Brokedown Palace, that's kind of an updated version, or Return to Paradise, a nifty Vince Vaughn vehicle (con: it also has Anne Heche) with a prison-breakout plot. And nobody's mentioned City of God, yet.

But the film I'd recommend? Easy Rider. Seriously. Your kid isn't going to stay off drugs because you didactically tell him to -- he's gonna stay off drugs because he has a good relationship with you, isn't afraid to tell you who among his friends are screw-ups, knows you won't overreact if he tells you someone offered him a toke. Show him a variety of movies with different human reactions and talk about them.
posted by dhartung at 8:22 PM on October 17, 2005

Christiane F--but the book is better.
posted by brujita at 10:08 PM on October 17, 2005

Hey - thanks to all who answered the question... I've got a few good leads... but it would be nice if those who don't actually have an answer just kept out of the thread. I asked for movie suggestions, not opinions on how good my parenting skills are
posted by bunglin jones at 1:39 AM on November 30, 2005