adonis98-743-186503 The true-life story of a mother who overcame an addiction to crack and became a positive role model and an AIDS activist in the black community. Life Support has it's fair share of good moments but also a very good message that it doesn't develop as well as it could also Queen Latifah does a pretty good job in the lead role but the dramatic parts and the storyline as a whole was flawed and quite disappointing since it tried way hard sometimes to make you shed a tear. Overall it's a TV Movie of course and unfortunately it shows like alot of times. (3.0/10)

raymond-168 Now listen this was a great movie. It had that festival feel to it (kinda indish) so I had to send big ups to the folks that produced the project.Here is what I really want to comment on is when the movie starts you can't tell me that queen is not speaking from a personal place. She is doing that role. We need to figure out how to provide more opportunities for our brothers and sisters to play in Hollywood. Not just our A-listers, but some of the new comers. This great work would not have been done had we not had players in the game. I imagine there are millions of stories that can't be told, because we are too busy buying hotel rooms and eating in fancy banquet halls for our conventions. We should be using our monies to invest in our businesses and our stories. And then when we have an opportunity to tell our stories we have to hire our folks to tell it -film it, light it, grip it, transpo it, edit it and score it. Well, I'm done.

gradyharp Once again HBO has produced a film for television that will doubtless be a success not only in its televised version but on theater release and/or DVD. LIFE SUPPORT as written by Nelson George, Hannah Weyer and Jim McKay and directed with power and restraint by Nelson George has the courage to delve deeply into the problem of AIDS in the black community and the result is a film that is not only informative but also a story of tremendous power about the sequelae of HIV infection on the lives of those infected and their families.Based on the true story of a mother who as a rack cocaine addict became infected by her boyfriend's indiscriminate use of a shared needle and with the discovery of her sero-positive status turned her life around to become a powerful positive role model and AIDS activist in the black community. Ana Willis (Queen Latifah in a sterling performance) is married to Slick (Wendell Pierce), both of whom are HIV positive and both work, living with their young daughter Kim (Ravelle Parker) and trying to cope with their estranged daughter Kelly (Rachel Nicks, a true find of a young artist!) who elects to live with her grandmother, Ana's beleaguered mother (Anna Deavere Smith, once again proving she is one of the premiere actors of the day). Kelly and Ana are at odds and their strained relationship is one of the evidences of the cruelties of the aftermath of ex-addicts manner of going straight. Kelly's closest friend is Omari (Evan Ross, gifted actor son of Diana Ross!) who is gay and is very ill with AIDS. Kelly asks for Ana's help when Omari disappears and it is through this act that the story plunges forward into the self help groups of AIDS patients Ana chairs, Ana's visit to Omari's boyfriends such as MJ (Darrin Dewitt Henson) who is very much on the down low, and Ana's ultimate finding herself as a mother, a wife, a caregiver and a fine activist in doing her part to prevent the spread of the dread disease form which she suffers.The large cast is excellent with outstanding performances by Queen Latifah, Anna Deavere Smith, and Rachel Nicks and strong work by Evan Ross et al. The beauty of the film is the avoidance of grandstanding and overacting: the message is driven home quietly and with respect. It is a fine film that should be seen by everyone. Grady Harp

u-bueller Growing up in the Bronx with drugs and AIDS being overwhelming issues even 25 years ago, I know how important this film was then and, unfortunately, continues to be today. This film is long overdue in its education of prevention, its compassion for fellow humans, and more than anything - its hope. The AIDS issue is stitched together beautifully following the story of a mending family torn apart by drugs many years ago. It's a must see to understand the inner city and in solving this together. Every part was played to perfection. The writer's depth of understanding that this is a far-reaching issue that invades even the simplest aspects of daily life, family trust, and personal pride is worth mentioning.