Gregory's Girl

While I'm sure I was a teenager once (my parents will attest to that), I was never a teenager in Scotland. This film makes me wish I had been.

This unpretentious tale of adolescent adoration (all right, puppy love), is one of the purest, most enjoyable, romance films I have ever seen.

Unlike American cinema where the main characters would be satisfying raging hormonal urges in gratuitously graphic sexual detail, this film by Mr. Forsythe catches the true essence of "young love" by letting the cast be what they are. Simply young people with an awkward sense of decency and a genuine curiosity for the opposite sex.

This is a must see, especially if you ever thought you might have been in love or think you are now.

Try to see the uncut version, as the British film industry has a different sense of 'Family Values' (whatever that is).

I love the secondary sub-plots. So, pay close attention.

This is one of the funniest and most warm-hearted films ever! John Gordon Sinclair and Dee Hepburn were absolutely wonderful in this story of teenage love and the sudden twists & turns that occur when you think you've met THE ONE, but then someone else...

I love this movie.Its my fav movie of all time ,Everytime i watch it its like meeting an old friend again.It is so rich with subtle humour and possibly every scene makes me chuckle.the teenage anguish is never over played and ever actor in the film has never surpassed there performances in this movie

growing up in Scotland myself i still don't feel that the movie is regional and anyone who is able to see it please do so .The clothes are dated but the humour is still spot on.

This film is a Scottish gem and should be given more praise.I just cant fault it.If i had to cut my DVD collection down to two gregorys girl and this is spinal tap would be my only choices.

I've caught this movie a few times playing on Stars in the states, and there is something indescribably charming about it. Maybe I'm biased because I've always loved British movies and television shows, but I found this movie very cute. The story is nothing big and dramatic, just a boy liking a girl and learning a bit about himself and about love in general in the end. The lead character of Gregory is very convincing and very real, you like him but at the same time you can't help wincing a bit at his awkwardness, especially in the scene where he's helping Dorothy out in football by playing goalie. I find this movie very refreshing when compared to teen comedies that are being made nowadays. Gregory's Girl has a realness and innocence to it that is severely lacking in Hollywood now.

And also thanks to whoever posted that the US version had the Scottish accents dubbed. I always noticed there was something "off" about the voices, especially the younger kids and now I see why. I hope someday I can see a copy with the original voices intact.

Excellent stuff from Bill Forsyth. Admittedly, the plot is strangely lop-sided, with the last 15 minutes proving quite detatched from the rest of it, and a perhaps quite unpredictable ending.

But what is great about this film is its depiction of adolescent gangly awkwardness, mostly in the form of John Gordon Sinclair. He and the other characters come across very strongly, partly I am sure due to the almost jaw-droppingly plain and dull backdrop, in the form of Cumbernauld, filmed with great care. This, coupled with the rather odd electric jazz soundtrack, result in a strange sterility of surroundings otherwise only found in the likes of 2001 etc. The beauty of the hills and the sunsets are left to towards the end, which acts as a great contrast.

Certain comparisons might even be drawn with later films like The Rachel Papers and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (ie the role of Cameron), although don't expect either of those to prepare you for the dazzling Gregory!

Good to see Clare Grogan pre- pop stardom with Altered Images too...