Gregory’s Girl is an iconic coming-of-age movie from 1981. Using a cast of teenagers from the Glasgow Youth Theatre, Writer-Director Bill Forsyth follows Gregory as he schemes to win the heart of the ground-breaking girl who has joined his high school football team.
John Gordon Sinclair is engaging as Gregory, a gawky but charming young man in search of his first kiss. Along the way, his friends also seek female encounters by honing their pickup lines and their peeping tom skills. The story is a string of vignettes that resulted from how the movie was made — shot in bits and pieces whenever the kids were available.
The sexism makes the film outdated and not-PC
Some people feel that this movie has aged well, but I really disagree. In fact, I can’t recommend this movie for kids at all because of the underlying but overt sexism.
The movie begins with a peeping tom scene where the group of buddies watch a nurse disrobe, and at the movie’s end, the boys head back to take photos that they will share or even sell. Given the recent iCloud hacking of celebrity’s personal unclothed photos, it is not appropriate to tacitly encourage such behavior. It is not a victimless crime.
There are also scenes where the teachers have it on for some of the girls. A boy pretending to help a girl in cooking class leaves his flour-laden handprint on her derrière, saying that other boys and teachers would like some of that. Sadly, the actress said she didn’t even know that scene was in the movie until close to its 30th anniversary. And finally, while the female soccer star seems empowered, she is basically a big-breasted blonde playing in white hot pants.
Little soccer play
Since this is not really a soccer movie, there is little soccer in it. Dorothy the soccer star (Dee Hepburn) is never shown striking the ball, and Gregory is quite the spazz in goal.
Bill Forysth, a man credited with some of Scotland’s best films (That Sinking Feeling), is now a bit of a recluse and hasn’t made a movie since 1999.
5 Soccer Movie Mom Rating = 5
Resources:
- Release Date: 1981-04-23 (UK)
- IMDB
- WIKI
- Director: Bill Forsyth
- Stars: John Gordon Sinclair , Dee Hepburn
- Watch the Trailer
