Dying to Belong (1997)

**SPOILERS** Pros: Hot actresses (Sarah Chalke looks in this), nice looking campus that actually look well-kept, and... uh lemme think, Oh yeah A good flick to make fun of while plastered with friends.Cons: Bad camera-work that give it a 70s-like look to it, A plot twist that makes no sense, music that repeated itself over and over and over and OVER and OVER and OVER, unrealistic in parts, etc.DYING TO BELONG(1997) 3 out of 10: This movie features a nice cast for the time, is a good (in more ways than one)look at the actresses Hilary Swank before her days as a Hollywood star and Sarah Chalke before being a regular on the show Scrubs, and also shows that sometimes film music needs variety.As for where the film goes wrong, I suppose I'll start with the music first. Three songs does not a versatile soundtrack make. This is one of the distractions of the movie as well; you wonder of the filmmakers has an obsession with this song and decided to shamelessly plug it all over the film. You'll know which one I'm talking about pretty early on in the movie/ There is one other song with the title of the movie in the lyrics, but no one will know or care about it, but it gets played about in three different scenes. The budget problems show here.I realize that this isn't Oscar-worthy material here, but some of the dialogue could've needed some work. That guy from Saved By The Bell looked horribly miscast as a bookworm reporter for the school newspaper who takes his job to seriously. Of course, who would've thought that he becomes the boyfriend/informant of Hilary Swank, and help to unravel the evil fraternity's harsh atmosphere and habitual Satan-worship. Speaking of that, I found the whole cloak and candles bit to be cheesy beyond belief. Don't get me started on the like spoken by Hilary Swank's mom which went something like, "Don't ever let me tell you how to live or you can slap me. (Sobbing)" Or something close to that.Now onto the plot. On first watch, the college-wide cover-ups of the death which led up to event like the reporter getting hooked me, and make me actually think that it was somewhat decent. But then, near the end Sarah's character tells Hilary that her friend falling was indeed and accident, leaving the viewer bewildered as to most of the antics the frat did in order to cover up the "accident". This is of course accepted as fact. If the movie was supposed to show how smooth that they lie, the movie did a bad job of conveying this.If it's on TV than go for it, and rent only if you are bored, don't have basic cable or dish, and like to laugh at these sorts of campy movies.

This is one of my favorite tv movies. It keeps you guessing from start to finish. It is about one girls struggle to find the truth when her best friend dies under mysterious circumstances. She sacrificies her friends and her reputation to discover the truth. Hilary Swank is phenomenal as usual and great performances were also done by Jenna, Sarah and Tracy! I recommend this movie to everyone!!

This is a very good movie I just happened to see on a cable channel once. I found that I recognized so many faces from 80's television (Saved By The Bell, Roseanne, Blossom), yet the actors filled the character roles perfectly. I'm not sure if this is a correct portrayal of hazing on campuses or the power of sororities and fraternities, but it made for an enjoyable picture. I was very surprised to find that a made for cable movie was so great. I highly recommend it to anyone interested.

I absolutely loved this movie. It has an all-star cast. The multi-faceted story of a girl entering a college, joining a sorority, and jumping into a relationship is so typical of what happens to many girls around that age. I found it helpful as I was on my way to college when I first viewed this film.10/10