Dear Lovey Hart:
I am Desperate...

(1976, U.S.) color 46 minutes
Martin Tahse Productions / American Broadcasting Company
"After School Specials"
Story: Ellen Conford (from her novel)
Screenplay: Bob Rodgers
Music: Glenn Paxton
Produced by Fred W. Bennett, Martin Tahse
Directed by Larry Elikann

With: Susan Lawrence (Carrie Wasserman), Meegan King (Skip Custer), Elyssa Davalos (Lisa), Barbara Timko (Susan), Del Hinkley (Mar), Bebe Kelly (Bernice), Al Eisenmann (Jeff Wasserman), Stephen Liss (Marty), Benny Medina (Bob), Craig Hundley (Barker), John Starr (Sam), Sheri Jason (First Tennis Player), Helene Nelson (Second Tennis Player), Bruce Caton (Freddie)

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SYNOPSIS: A young transfer student, Carolyn Wasserman, works for her new high school newspaper. The editor, Skip, talks her into writing an advice column, under the unlikely pseudonym "Lovey Hart". At first, Carolyn enjoys the project, and is happy to give out peppy advice to her friends and peers. Soon, however, things take a dark turn when her advice starts to cause problems for folks. Carolyn wants out of the charade, but Skip is obsessed with the increased readership of the paper. Only a traumatic event, and an embarrasing unmasking, cause everyone to realize that cheap advice isn't worth the paper it's printed on!

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DEAR LOVEY HART: I AM DESPERATE…, one of the most fondly remembered of the After School Specials, starts out as a slightly goofy light comedy about high school kids, and ends a mere hour later as intense cautionary fable.

Skip, the arrogant editor of the school newspaper (dumbly called "The Lincoln Log", after a popular children's toy) invents a fake lovelorn column, and snares innocent newcomer Carolyn Wasserman (perfectly brought to life by Susan Lawrence) to be the masked guinea pig. Susan Lawrence is endearing and vibrant as Carolyn, aka “Lovey Hart”, one of those actors you tend to fall instantly in love with. Susan as Carolyn (as "Lovey") is a "big" performance, and one with alot of emotional depth.

All goes well for awhile, and Carolyn even dares to enjoy her “secret” fame. But things unravel quickly; at a "swinging" party (with music by "The In Crowd" star Dobie Gray), "Lovey" finds out the hard way that advice is cheap, and sometimes deadly. Several "big" issues comes up; a student is in love with her teacher. The student foolishly reveals her feelings, and has her heart broken. Also, a fattie who “Lovey” told to take a diet, ends up in the hospital with undiagnosed diabetes!

Yikes! This is a most interesting variation on the "Lonelyhearts" newspaper columns of the day, with more than a nod to Nathaniel West's cynical treatise on the subject.

Soliciting other people's pain for pleasure or profit proves to be a double-edged sword surely, but it allows Carolyn's innate wisdom to blossom; she rejects her second self in a vibrant finale at the school fair, where Carolyn is unmasked and humiliated in the presence of her peers, betrayed by her bratty kid brother.

Lesson Number One: A seemingly harmless prank can easily veer out of control. Who takes the responsibility to give out advice?

Lesson Number Two: a secret identity, schizophrenic as it is, is doomed to failure; one can neither defend nor reveal one’s “other” self against attack, so instances of defamation and misunderstanding are inevitable.

This screenplay would only work way back when the high school student newspaper was really a force of culture, a fertile, and sometimes controversial proving ground for future literary and journalistic talent. The responsibility of the Fourth Estate is lovingly invoked here; there are even several timely references to Burns and Woodward of recent "Watergate" infamy.

At midpoint, right before things go to crisis, we enjoy a sweet, innocent moment with teenage Susan; the camera follows her lovingly around the sanctity of her room as she ponders the volatile nature of her two identities. This is a beautiful and poignant scene, one of those marvelous moments which make the After School Specials so, well, “special”.

Last, but not least, DEAR LOVEY HART is a veritable panoply of fresh teenage faces, circa 1976, a kaleidoscope of young talent, a WELCOME BACK KOTTER without all the schtick, a charismatic directory of 1970's youth actors. It's a fetching bunch, no doubt, and DEAR LOVEY HART is one attractive and lovable telefilm.

DVD availibility: Brentwood BCI Eclipse