Angel Dusted

Plot

PCP, a deadly drug commonly known as Angel Dust, made its first destructive appearances on the street in the late 1970s. In Angel Dusted, Jean Stapleton plays a cloistered housewife/mother who knows little and cares less about drug problems. Her son is a hard-working college student who decides to experiment just once with marijuana. The boy freaks out after smoking pot laced with PCP--and it doesn't look like he'll ever totally recover. Adding texture to the film is the presence of the film's screenwriter Darlene Craviotto as the boy's psychiatrist--and the presence of Jean Stapleton's real-life son John Putch in the role of her on-screen son. Angel Dusted was based on a book by Ursula Etons. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

The anti-drug melodramas of the 1980's tended to take a hysterical tone towards their subject matter but Angel Dusted is a surprisingly subdued exception to that rule. Instead of lingering on lurid scenes of drug abuse, the script concentrates on the social dynamics that shape drug abuse and the aftereffects it can have on a family. The dramatic component of the film can be a bit soap opera-ish and some awkward bits of humor are shoehorned into the story but those elements probably made the messages easier for the era's audience to assimilate. It helps that Angel Dusted has a strong cast: John Putch is convincingly intense as the troubled son and Jean Stapleton (Putch's real-life mother) and Arthur Hill offer strong yet subtle performances as the confused but well-meaning parents. Darlene Craviotto, the film's writer, also lends some subtle support as a drug facility's main counselor. Dick Lowry's direction is workmanlike but that suits the material. The end results are modest stuff and dated by modern standards but Angel Dusted is of historical interest to students of anti-drug films as a uniquely restrained and thoughtful example of this subgenre. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi

Cast

Domingo Ambriz; Miriam Byrd-Nethery; Darlene Craviotto; Jerry Hardin; Arthur Hill - Michael Eaton; Helen Hunt - Lizzie Eaton; Charles Lucia - Jimmy; John Putch - Owen Eaton; Percy Rodrigues - Dr. Kevin Hastings; Jean Stapleton - Betty Eaton; Patrick Cassidy - Bob Shecky

Credit

Dick Lowry - Director, James Horner - Composer (Music Score), Darlene Craviotto - Screenwriter

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