***SPOILERS*** Straightforward and honest depiction of how drugs can destroy not only those that use them but their friends and family members as well.The story of Zoey Carter, Julian Whelan, is all too common in what we see in the youth of today when they stray off the right path and fall into the hell that's knows as drug and alcohol addiction. Being a grad A student and working part time as a volunteer at a local nursing home Zoey got a little too friendly with fellow high-school student Ron, Michael Conistine, who just happened to be the main drug pusher in the school. With Zoey getting hooked on both legal and illegal drugs it was off the the races where the finish line was a one way trip to the hospital emergency ward that's if your lucky! Most junkies like Zoey don't even have that good of a chance to stay alive after overdosing by going straight to the hospital morgue.It took a while for Zoey's mom Marcia Carter, Mia Farrow, to realize her daughter was a cold stone junkie but by then it was almost too late for her to do anything about it. Together with her estrange husband Larry, Cliff De Young, all Marcia could hope for was that Zoey would somehow kick the habit by herself which in fact got worse as time went on. The final kicker was when a grounded Zoey took out her mom's car for a spin one evening and got herself lost in a local drug den! After downing about two dozen uppers and downers and washing them down with booze she ended up in the hospital emergency room close to death!Sent to dry out at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center didn't help much either with Zoey not responding to treatment and not listening to her kind and understanding appointed social worker Mike Harper, Andrew McCarthy, in feeling that her life, or whatever is left of it, was over anyway so why try to save it!***SPOILERS*** It was in fact the news that her good friend "Old Smoky", Walter Marsh, an 85 year old patient at the nursing home that Zoey did volunteer worked at passed away from a fatal heart attack that finally woke her up! The fact that Zoey wasn't there for him in his las moments on earth that really turned her around in how both selfish and destructive she became because of her drug addition! Getting back on track Zoey finally did what she had to do in trying to kick the habit but she knew that the road to recovery would be a long and hard one. And most of all it's up to her and her alone to make all that possible!

This story has been done again and again. Troubled teen gets depressed, takes drugs, goes into rehab, recovers... blah blah. The mother in film is pretty unbelievable, and a hypocrite as well. How can she get mad at her daughter for taking drugs when she does it herself?? The dad was pathetic, he cared more about himself than his ex wife and daughter. The I saw so many mistakes in continuity in the whole 30 minutes I saw of it and it was enough to put me off! Did anyone else notice how when she vomited and passed out she had spew all over her mouth and when she was passed out in the car she was totally clean? And how on earth did she get from the hospital into rehab so fast??? The emergency people in the hospital were pretty stupid, who on earth just shakes someone and asks if they can hear them?? Didn't they think her mom had already triedthat??? DUH. Don't see this film unless you like really crappy movies.

Zoey Carter (Julia Whelan) is the beloved sixteen years old daughter of Marcia Carter (Mia Farrow), who has recently divorced from her husband Larry Carter (Cliff De Young). Zoey feels too much the separation of her parents, and has Kayla (Katharine Isabelle) as her best friend. While temporarily working in the hairdresser saloon of her friend Mimi (Caroline Aaron), Marcia is trying to find a job to support her family. She is very proud of her daughter, who seems to be a very responsible teenager, since she is a good student, she has her own car and she voluntarily works in an old folk's home. However, Zoey has a hidden personality, and she eventually uses drugs, stealing pills and money from her parents to buy weed. When Zoey meets the handsome student and drug dealer Ron (Michael Coristine), she is induced by him to shoplift to buy heavy drugs with him. She fails in her trial, and the guy gives free drugs to addict her. When she has an OD, she is sent to a psychiatric treatment with Dr. Mike Harper (Andrew McCarthy). "The Secret Life of Zoey" is a good and very real dramatic story that may happen with teenagers in any family. The cast is very well selected, with Mia Farrow excellent as usual, in the role of a mother that becomes lost when she finds the other side of the personality of her daughter. Julia Whelan is amazing, with her angelical face, in the role of a teenager with a secret behavior on the back of her mother. The rendition of her character in the end of the story makes an optimistic end, but I have nothing against it. There is one particular dialog in this movie that I liked a lot between Marcia and Mike. Marcia wants to know her mistake in raising Zoey, and Mike replies that it is among ten thousand others mistakes. A great truth in a non-perfect world in a movie with a good message. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "A Vida Secreta de Uma Adolescente" ("The Secret Life of an Adolescent")

I think this is the first time i have ever commented on a movie and given it below average ratings. I found 1) Julia Whelan totally adorable, 2) Mia Farrow pretty unbelievable, 3) Andrew McCarthy totally unnecessary. Other than that, this was such a terrible script, I'm surprised they could make anything out of it. Totally canned after-school special. I should not watch anymore Lifetime Original movies, I think.