Her Last Chance

Her Last Chance (Mon. (8), 9-11 p.m., NBC) Filmed in Los Angeles by Bonnie Raskin Prods. in association with NBC Prods. Executive producer, Bonnie Raskin; producer, Rita Hayward; co-producer, Debbie Martin; director, Richard Colla; writer, Kathleen Rowell.

Cast: Kellie Martin, Jonathan Brandis, Tony Lucca, Devon Odessa, Patti LuPone, Jenna Elfman, Marilyn McIntyre, William Lucking, John Cothran Jr., Ray Abruzzo, Danny Masterson, Sarah Ann Morris, Jenna Cole, Ian Bohen, Joyce Guy, Edwina Moore, Hal Havins. With a strong performance from Kellie Martin as a teen addict, "Her Last Chance" delivers an earnest message about drugs. But telepic's second half loses steam; its focus on kids and drugs is undermined after the accidental killing of Martin's party-hearty b.f. Preston (Jonathan Brandis). It's too bad, because "Chance" tries very hard -- with its kids' POV, use of cutting-edge bands and camera techniques -- to say something really important.

Alex (Martin) and Preston are the king and queen of their alcohol- and beer-soaked, fun-loving friends, until the two have a bad LSD trip and Alex's mom, Joanna (Patti LuPone), throws her into a rehab hospital.

Under the guidance of tough-as-nails counselor Leslie (Jenna Elfman), Alex confronts her addiction and stays sober. But the temptation to be the No. 1 party girl is too great and she falters.

Leslie, as Alex's sponsor, and friends in AA help her through the lows, and Alex is finally able to take hold of her addiction and rise above it.

But Alex's privileged and shallow friends reject her new-found sobriety -- she's clean, her friends aren't -- and events come to a head at Rachel's (Devon Odessa) birthday party, when a drugged-out Preston falls to his death. The police arrest Alex, the last person to see him alive, although it's pretty obvious who committed the crime.

From here on, "Chance" becomes a mishmash of themes and unlikely events. Alex suddenly acquires a wisdom beyond her years and telepic becomes rushed, as if the filmmakers spent too much time on her journey to sobriety and had to tie things up.

The denouement with Alex and Rachel is simplistic, and the pointless murder undermines what was a fairly strong picture of a young woman fighting peer pressure and parental expectations.

Scripter Kathleen Rowell strives to keep true to Alex's POV, but ultimately the telepic succumbs to theforced plot elements and ends up pulling some punches.

Helmer Richard Colla and cinematographer Michael Margulies use imaginative camerawork to heighten the vertigo of falling into a drug-induced oblivion, most notably as Alex falls off the wagon the first time, when they intercut the desperate partying of the kids with Catherine Wheel's powerful musicvid "Way Down."

And the soundtrack is hip: other college-radio darlings such as Innocence Mission and Dishwalla add authenticity and an edgy subtext, while R.E.M.'s wonderful "Everybody Hurts" effectively underlines key scenes.

Martin, with her girl-next-door looks, is believable as Alex, but the shallowness of the second half thwarts her good work in the first. Other standout is Elfman as the in-your-face, tough-love counselor.

Camera, Michael Margulies; editor, Michael S. Murphy; production design, Peter Wooley; sound, Joe Melody; music, Pray for Rain; casting, Robin Lippin.

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