Cult Movie Challenge 2018 | 28/52 | 80s Teen Comedy
Angel walks through her underdeveloped neighborhood, lit cigarette in her mouth and a pack of Marlboros stuffed into the waistline of her jeans. A boy approaches and catcalls her, so she gives him a kick between the legs. She slides into her mom’s convertible, where mom chastises her for smoking as mom pulls a drag off the cigarette in her mouth.
Ferris steps outside her mansion, her mother and father walking alongside her as they get into the Rolls-Royce. It’s the summer of 1980, and they’re off to Camp Little Wolf. Their respective families drop them off in the bus parking lot, where we also meet an array of other girls with their respective quirks and mannerisms. Angel and Ferris immediately get off on the wrong foot, getting into a physical altercation on the bus.
At a pit stop, Cinder, who is both engaged and a teen model, brags about her sexual encounters, which leads to her discovering Angel and Ferris are virgins. Of course, these girls, and the others we’ve met, are all bunkmates, so Cinder makes a big scene and sets up a bet to see whether Angel or Ferris loses her virginity first. The camp divides into two camps as they root for their respective virgin.
Angel pretends she doesn’t care, but also isn’t quiet about how annoying boys her age are — that is, until she meets fellow ne’er-do-well, Randy. Ferris is a hopeless romantic who falls for Gary, a significantly older camp counsellor. The game is on! But when things get real, will it still feel like a game?
Just remember — a man reaches his sexual peak at seventeen! After that, it's all downhill.
The film is full of teen sex-comedy tropes, but what sets this movie apart is how much the script cares about its characters. It doesn’t aim for hyperbolic comedic notes or teen tragedies; instead, it lets the experiences speak for themselves. Which is pretty huge, considering this movie came out between raunchy teen comedies Meatballs and Porky’s. Given that the movie frames itself from the women’s perspectives, it is all the more special.
The soundtrack is quite good! Good to know that Blondie’s “One Way or Another” has been a movie staple since it came out.
Actor Talk
- Kristy McNichol is the star of this movie. Not only is her role more meaty, but she also delivers a more rounded, emotive performance.
- Tatum O’Neal gets little to do in this movie, but what she does works well for the character.
- I definitely did not recognize young Cynthia Nixon as the flow-crowned hippie chick, Sunshine Walker.
- I really thought Krista Errickson was Felissa Rose.
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torrentcmccmc2018written-by-womencoming-of-ageteensploitation