The Best Little Girl in the World
The Best Little Girl in the World is a 1981 television film directed by Sam O'Steen and executive produced by Aaron Spelling. The film is based upon the 1979 novel of the same name written by Steven Levenkron. Plot Seventeen-year-old Casey Powell is a shy teenaged cheerleader who gets good grades and dreams of being a professional ballet dancer. Her parents, Frank and Joanne, give all their attention to her 19-year-old sister Gail, who has just found out she is pregnant by someone she has no interest in marrying. Frank is infuriated and Joanne is worried, so they forget to spend time with Casey; not a new thing, as problem-child Gail has always drawn attention away from good-girl Casey. Feeling ignored by her parents and embarrassed by harassment at her cheerleading audition, Casey starts wanting to look like the models on the covers of magazines and begins to diet and exercise. Casey is noticed by her ballet teacher, Madame Seuart, who tells her that she could be very good if she loses a few pounds. It doesn't take long before Casey becomes anorexic and bulimic. Casey's parents ignore her dream of becoming a professional dancer and instead want her to graduate high school, get a good job, and then become a wife and mother. Over the next two months, Casey's illness progresses as she throws herself into dieting and ballet dancing which causes Gail to worry that something is wrong with her. Her grades in school begin to deteriorate, which finally draws her parents' attention; however, Gail's attempts to support Casey cause more fights with their parents and distracts them from Casey. When Gail sees how thin Casey has become, she is horrified and warns her parents. Casey is sent to a doctor who orders her to start eating normally again, threatening to send her to a hospital if she doesn't. Despite the pressure, Casey continues her eating disorder in secret. Frank finds her diet pills and tries to force her to eat, but she refuses. After feeling ignored at a party, Casey lies to her parents about having eaten at the party. Frank doesn't believe her and tries to force feed her a peanut butter sandwich, but Casey bites his hand. In an attempt to mend things with her family, Casey makes her family breakfast and even eats it with them, but is discouraged when she finds out that her mother has decided to go to her sister's lamaze class and shop for baby supplies instead. Because her parents took away her diet pills and laxatives, Casey attempts to steal more from the pharmacy the next day; however, she is caught and arrested. Her parents bail her out, but she collapses outside of the police station and is taken to the hospital. She tries to run away, but collapses in the attempt and is re-captured. In the hospital, Casey befriends fellow patient Carol Link, who is also suffering from anorexia and bulimia. Carol gives Casey advice about how to