List of films featuring diabetes

There is a body of films that include a character with diabetes as part of the plot. In the late twentieth century, most films' references to diabetes were minor. Characters with diabetes were developed in plots in which the disease "played a more significant role" in films such as Steel Magnolias and Panic Room.[1] Dr. Kevin L. Ferguson discussed such films in the Journal of Medical Humanities and reported, "Films that represent diabetes must work around the disease's banal invisibility, and images of diabetics in film are especially susceptible to metaphor and exaggeration."[2] Everyday Health reported, "Sometimes, filmmakers get it wrong: mixing up different types of diabetes, imagining symptoms or complications that aren't accurate, or unfairly portraying another aspect of the condition."[3]

List of films edit

FilmYearDescription
12 Feet Deep2017The American thriller film features twin sisters who are trapped in a swimming pool under a fiberglass pool cover. One of the sisters has diabetes and needs an insulin shot to avoid slipping into a coma.[4]
150 Milligrams2017The French drama film is based on the real-life French pulmonologist Irène Frachon who fought between 2009 and 2011 to reveal that a diabetes drug was life-threatening.[5]
After Dark, My Sweet1990A kidnapped child turns out to be diabetic, and after unwittingly feeding him pie, the kidnappers must steal and inject insulin to prevent him from dying (they seem to do so intravenously).[6]
Alma1999A documentary film about Alma Thorpe, whose primary condition is schizophrenia, but she also has diabetes.[7]
The Ambulance1990A rogue doctor in an ambulance kidnaps people with diabetes for his experiment.[8]
The Baby-Sitters Club1995Amidst various interpersonal dramas among the members of the club, Stacey grapples with revealing her diabetes to her older boyfriend, Luca.[9]
Battle Royale II: Requiem2003A diabetic schoolgirl is sent on a mission with other students to kill a terrorist but only has three days' worth of insulin with her.[10][11][12][13]
Beats, Rhymes & Life2011A documentary film about the band A Tribe Called Quest, including Phife Dawg, who has diabetes.[7]
Big Nothing2006In the black comedy film, criminals kill an FBI agent with diabetes by force-feeding him a lollipop.[14]
Bread and Roses2000A married couple has financial difficulties because the husband has diabetes.[15]
Brokedown Palace1999The father of one of the wrongfully imprisoned women has diabetes.[16]
Broken2012The coming-of-age film stars an 11-year-old child who is learning to manage diabetes.[17]
Chocolat2000An elderly woman in the film hides her diabetes from her family.[18]
Click2006Michael Newman navigates the challenges of work, family, and a magical remote control that controls reality, while also contending with the implications of his father's diabetes-related complications.[19]
Cliffhanger1993The female pilot of the criminal gang radios for emergency backup, saying that they need insulin for a person with diabetes.[20]
Con Air1997Sgt. Cameron Poe, recently paroled, boards a prison transport plane filled with dangerous convicts that gets hijacked, all while trying to secure insulin for his diabetic cellmate, Mike "Baby-O" O'Dell.[14]
The Confessional1995A family mystery is investigated, and hereditary diabetes is a clue in establishing a family link.[21]
A Deadly Adoption2015In a parody of melodramatic films screened on the TV network Lifetime, two parents see their daughter fall into a diabetic coma.[22]
Derailed2005Charles Schine, an advertising executive, gets entangled in a blackmail scheme after an illicit affair, forcing him to embezzle money intended for his daughter's expensive type 1 diabetes medication.[16]
The Diabetic2023A lonely and irreverent 30 year old Type 1 Diabetic named Alek returns to his hometown to re-live his teenage 'glory days.' [23]
Dog Day Afternoon1975The manager of the bank at which the robbery takes place has diabetes and is threatened by the hostage taking, as he needs medication.[16]
Fed Up2014The documentary film highlights that too much sugar in American diets is a strong reason for the prevalence of diabetes mellitus type 2 in the United States.[24]
The Founder2016In the biographical film about the creator of the McDonald's fast food chain, one of the McDonald brothers is hospitalized due to a stress-induced diabetes shock, and founder-to-be Ray Kroc visits him in the hospital to offer to buy out the brothers' restaurant.[25]
The General1998The titular Irish crime boss Martin Cahill develops type 2 diabetes.[26]
Gigli2003A character with diabetes is helped by another character.[27]
Glory Enough for All1988A dramatized account of the discovery of insulin by Frederick Banting and Charles Best researching at the University of Toronto in 1921–22. The film focuses on Elizabeth Hughes, a seriously sick diabetic girl who is one of the first to receive the miracle treatment.[28]
The Godfather Part III1990The film's crime boss, Michael Corleone, suffers from diabetes.[7]
Gubra2006When a woman's father is hospitalized due to diabetic complications, she meets a man with whom she falls in love.[29]
Half Baked1998The stoner comedy film features a horse with diabetes.[7]
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters2013As a result of consuming too much candy in Hansel and Gretel, Hansel contracts diabetes and must periodically inject insulin.[30]
The Hospital1971Dr. Schaefer, a diabetic, is murdered by an insulin overdose.
It Runs in the Family2003The protagonist's wife suffers from complications from diabetes and is on dialysis due to kidney failure.[15]
Jerry and Tom1998The film's hitman suffers from diabetes.[26]
Just Before Dawn1946A criminal psychologist is tricked into injecting a person with diabetes with poison instead of the insulin needed.[31]
Killers of the Flower Moon2023Mollie, and a number of the Osage, have diabetes; Mollie begins treatment with insulin as it is introduced, which is later used to slowly poison her by her husband Ernest Burkhart.
Mad Money2008Bridget Cardigan teams up with Nina and Jackie to steal old dollar bills set for destruction at the Federal Reserve Bank, and their heist becomes complicated, with one of the bank robbers suffering from diabetes.[16]
Meeting Daddy2000The colonel in the film has diabetes and uses a glucometer to monitor himself.[27]
Memento2000In a side plot, a man with amnesia treats his wife with diabetes.[7]
The Next Three Days2010A husband attempts an escape plan for his wrongfully imprisoned wife, who has diabetes.[15]
No Good Deed2002The film's police officer is shown performing a self-maintenance routine for diabetes.[16]
Nothing in Common1986The protagonist's parents divorce, and he learns that his father has diabetes and has been avoiding treatment.[32]
Over the Brooklyn Bridge1984The lead character Alby (played by Elliott Gould) has diabetes.[33]
Panic Room2002A young girl with diabetes and her mother are trapped in a safe room during a home invasion.[16]
Patch Adams1998The comedy-drama film, based on Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, depicts a scene in which medical residents scrutinize a patient with diabetes, and Adams, unlike the others, asks for the patient's name.[34]
Paul Blart: Mall Cop2009Paul Blart fails his police exam because of symptoms of diabetes, mainly hypoglycemia.[35]
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 22015In previous movies, Paul Blart fails his police exam because of symptoms of diabetes, mainly hypoglycemia.[35]
The Planet of Junior Brown2000A character with diabetes is helped by another character.[27]
Promised a Miracle1988The American television film dramatizes the true story of Christian parents who believed their 11-year-old son's diabetes were healed by God and discarded his insulin, resulting in their son's death.[36]
Regarding Henry1991The film's attorney, recovering from a shooting, meets an elderly man with diabetes.[26]
Reversal of Fortune1990A husband defends against charges that he killed his wife who had diabetes.[37]
The Right Hand Man1987Based on the historical novel The Right-Hand Man, the film is set in Australia in 1860 and features a protagonist with diabetes.[38]
S/O Satyamurthy2015A man meets a woman with diabetes and develops a relationship with her.[39]
Scarecrow Gone Wild2004A college-age man suffers a diabetic shock as a result of a prank but is resurrected as a killer scarecrow.[7]
Soul Food1997A matriarch's refusal to address her diabetes leads to her death and her family falling apart.[19]
Species1995An alien seductress rejects and kills a candidate mate because he has diabetes.[7]
Split2016One of the multiple personalities played by James McAvoy has diabetes and is shown injecting insulin, while none of the other personalities has diabetes.[40]
State of Emergency2011In the horror film, survivors of a zombie outbreak hide in a warehouse. One of the survivors hides her diabetes from the others, but when she falls into a coma, another survivor goes out to find insulin for her.[41]
Steel Magnolias1989Set in a close-knit Louisiana community, Shelby battles Type 1 diabetes and its complications, leading her to face life-altering decisions about motherhood, love, and sacrifice, all against the backdrop of the deep bond she shares with her mother, M'Lynn, and their group of supportive friends.[42]
Tammy2014After a series of personal mishaps, Tammy embarks on a chaotic road trip with her hard-drinking grandmother Pearl, who has diabetes but defiantly refuses medication, leading them on an adventure filled with mishaps, crimes, and unexpected bonds.[43]
That's My Boy2012The comedy film features the relationship between a father and his son. In the son's childhood, he is obese and has diabetes due to his father's lack of care.[44]
This Old Cub2004A documentary film about baseball player Ron Santo, who has diabetes.[26]
To Kill a Man2014A caretaker of a forest preserve has diabetes; when his medicine is stolen, his son's attempt to recover the medicine leads to the family being terrorized by the criminal gang.[45]
Warlock1989A witch-hunter from the 17th century pursues a malevolent warlock to 20th century Los Angeles, and with the help of Kassandra, a woman cursed by the Warlock and who manages her diabetes with insulin, they work to prevent him from reassembling a powerful book that could end Creation.[8]
The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time!1982The documentary film shows the band The Weavers, including bass vocalist Lee Hays, who had diabetes.[7]
What Keeps You Alive2018In this Canadian thriller, a psychopathic woman with diabetes attacks and (apparently) murders her wife. The victim, however, obtains posthumous revenge by having first poisoned her wife's insulin.[46]
What the Health2017The documentary film explores health risks associated with the meat industry and says that several studies show that meat consumption is a leading cause of diabetes.[47]
Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name?1971The film amateur sleuth has diabetes and is helped by another character.[27]
The Witches1990The young protagonist's grandmother has diabetes.[15]
Wonderful World2009The protagonist's roommate is hospitalized for treatment of a coma due to diabetes. The protagonist falls in love with his roommate's sister, who comes to visit.[48]
Sugarless2022The protagonist is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but chooses to conceal it from his lover.[49]

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