1996 Lifetime Movie Starring Candace Cameron and Fred Savage

October is national Domestic Violence month. This movie is about a dysfunctional and violent relationship between two high schoolers. Candace Cameron plays DJ Tanner Stacy Collins and Fred Savage plays Kevin Arnold Bobby Tennison. I had a really hard time buying Fred Savage as the abusive boyfriend. Candace Cameron looked to me like she could take his ass down if she had to.

No One Would Tell

Stacy is in the bleachers of her high school watching Bobby who her friends comment to be her secret crush of a couple of years. We find out Bobby is quite the wrestler. This scene was fun because I remember as a teenage girl taking the quizzes from Seventeen magazine on romance and love. These three friends are doing exactly that while watching Bobby win on the mat. They even give some love to Ricki Lake who had a huge talk show back in the 1990s. Aww, the nostalgia.

Later in the day, we see Stacy in her bedroom with her friend Nicki discussing Bobby. Her mom, played by the awesome Michelle Phillips, comes in to borrow some earrings for her date with a man named Rod. Stacy is no fan of Rod’s treatment towards her mother. She feels he treats her mother badly and offers to stay home when Rod calls to cancel at the last minute. Her mother tells her to go out with Nicki and have fun.

The girls end up at a pizza joint where Bobby is with friends. He approaches Stacy and says he saw her cheering in the stands and invites her to his practice on Monday.

Stacy goes to the practice and hears the end of a foreshadowing speech made by the wrestling coach.

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Bobby invites her to the lake where all of his friends hang out. There is a girl named Carla who is all over Bobby and Stacy plays it cool. Bobby and Stacy end up grabbing a blanket and going away from the crowd later as dusk falls. They discuss their home lives. Neither one is particularly happy. They have a great talk and share a great kiss.

The next day Stacy has a note and a rose on her locker from Bobby. They are now hanging out in the library and studying together. It doesn’t take anytime for Bobby to start getting possessive and physical with Stacy. He grabs her in the library because people have the audacity to say hello to her and want to converse. Bobby tells Stacy that he wants it to just be the two of them. He quickly apologizes to her after seeing that she is taken aback by his aggression.

Next we see them at the lake with friends. They are all having a good time.

While at her locker, Bobby gives Stacy a necklace. We see him get agitated that she has photo of a guy with his arm around her taped inside. She says chill out and that he is a friend.

We soon see that things are serious between the two as she is now walking the school hallway wearing his letterman jacket…are these even a thing nowadays? I can’t recall seeing them around town. Anyway, back in the 90s this would have been huge!

Guys being guys in the locker room and Bobby freaks out that a teammate says he saw Stacy and she was looking F-I-N-E. He freaks out and goes to find her and calls her a slut. She runs after him crying how much she loves him. She follows him into the gym and he ends up knocking her to the ground. This is witnessed by half the wrestling team and his wrestling coach who doesn’t want to report it as he needs Bobby at the meet. Stacy says she is fine, but you can see she is getting fed up.

Later, she is in her room with her mom. Her mom is complaining that Stacy is spending too much time with Bobby and that she never hangs with her friends anymore and her grades are dropping. Stacy turns it around to tell her mom how she isn’t like her…can she really not see she is just like her mother? We don’t resolve anything because the phone rings and take a wild guess who is on the line. Hint: It isn’t Rod

Stacy is asked by Nicki to help on the dance committee. She can’t. It isn’t Bobby’s thing. While decorating for the dance, Nicki is told by Bobby’s cousin that the last girl Bobby went out with had to transfer out of school because of his behavior. Nicki tries to talk to Stacy and sees bruises on her. Stacy makes excuses as usual.

Next scene we see Bobby’s truck and Stacy goes over. His mother is in the passenger’s seat. No Bobby. Stacy introduces herself and they start talking. His mother asks her to come by the house sometime and Stacy says she has wanted to, but Bobby won’t let her. His mom let’s it out that Bobby’s father left them and Bobby misses him. Bobby shows up and again freaks out and really lays into Stacy pushing and grabbing at her. You think she has finally had enough and she tells him to basically F off and stay away from her as he drives away like a maniac.

She gets home and has a massive bruise from where he grabbed her neck. She goes to kitchen and makes sure her mom sees it. Her mom shows concern, but then good ole Rod shows up bitching she isn’t outside and ready to go. She complies leaving Stacy alone. Stacy goes to her room and Bobby has let himself in through the window. She is pissed, but Bobby manipulates her into giving him another chance because he loves her.

We see them at a school dance and they are having a blast. All is well until Bobby, while talking with his friends, sees Stacy talking with another male. He loses his crap and they go outside. Nicki and her date follow. We hear Bobby screaming and he slaps Stacy. Nicki begs Stacy to not leave with Bobby. What must be the dumbest dialogue of this movie goes like this: Nicki: You aren’t going with him! He treats you like crap! Stacy: You don’t know what he has been through. You don’t give up on someone you love. Nicki: You call this love? I don’t think he even likes you. Stacy: Then you don’t know what love is. End scene.

Bobby drops Stacy off at home, but she doesn’t go into the house as she hears her Mom and Rod fighting. We next see her in the shower, her body completely battered. I am talking neck, arms, back and thighs. We learn she is at Nicki’s house. They make a plan for her to break it off with Bobby for good. While making this plan Bobby calls, but Nicki won’t let him talk to Stacy. They receive another call and it is Stacy’s mom. She has broken up with Rod and she wishes she had taken Stacy’s advice earlier. They both hang up happy.

Bobby is shown at school with Stacy telling him to just leave things alone. They are finished. She needs to get her life back. She misses her friends and needs to concentrate on her classes. She gives back the necklace he gave her. He says YOU ARE MY LIFE and she says let’s stay friends. He grabs her wrist and says I COULD NEVER GIVE YOU UP.

Stacy is at the bowling alley still talking about Bobby. Nicki says quit talking about him or leave. So, when Bobby calls her there and says I need a haircut and she agrees to get picked up and go to his house (yeah, he finally wants to show her the place) no one is surprised when she is gone. They get to his house and it doesn’t take but a minute for him to start his crap. He is yelling and accusing her of seeing other people. There are two other people in the living room. Carla who invited herself along and Vince a friend of Bobby’s.

Carla and Vince get really uncomfortable with the situation. Stacy runs out of the house and Bobby asks Vince to go get her. He then tells Carla that she needs to keep her mouth shut and he gives her a long kiss. She agrees. Vince and Stacy are on the swings. Bobby says get in the truck I will drive you home. However, he drives to the lake. He and Stacy get out. Vince, who is along for the ride, stays in the truck. We see Bobby kill Stacy and come back to the truck alone. Vince is like what the hell just happened man?!?

Stacy is reported missing and Bobby does a good job of being a concerned boyfriend and helps in the search of her. Nicki tells Stacy’s mom about the abuse and we get to see both Vince and Carla crack. Stacy is found in the lake. Bobby is given a life sentence by Sally Jessy Raphael. I didn’t recognize her without her red glasses…shout out to the 90s kids!

I watched this movie on YouTube for free. After the movie, I read through the YouTube comments and learned this was based on the true story of Amy Carnevale and Jamie Fuller. Fourteen year old Amy was murdered by sixteen year old Jamie on August 23, 1991 in Beverly, Massachusetts. I am going to search for a podcast or book to learn more about this murder.

In real life I do remember an incident at my school where there was a girl who came in with a badly bruised forehead one day. The teacher asked her what happened and she said her boyfriend got mad while driving her to school and reached over and slammed her head into the dashboard. I also remember seeing them together many times that year after this incident and there being a lot of other drama and abuse going on between the two of them.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. Please reach out if you or someone you know needs help.

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Filed under: Natalie Merchant - @ October 10, 2021 8:18 pm