Themes: Coping With Puberty, Innocence Lost, Kids in Trouble
Main Cast: Nell Schofield, Jad Capelja, Geoff Rhoe, Sandy Paul
Release Year: 1981
Country: AU
Run Time: 87 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Director Bruce Beresford continued his tradition of putting socially disenfranchised characters front and center with this wryly observant comedy drama about middle class Australian teens that served as a stark contrast to the popular American teen films of its day. Friends from the Sydney suburb of Cronulla, Debbie (Nell Schofield) and Sue (Jad Capelja) are a pair of average schoolgirls who smoke, drink, have sex, and cheat on exams. The girls are also striving to become "surfie chicks," the groupies that hang around the surfer boy gangs of southern Sydney, pairing off with the objects of their affection. Adhering to odd rules that prevent them from eating or going to the bathroom in the surfers' presence, the girls get into trouble for their wild behavior, with Debbie eventually fearing that she's pregnant, leading to a fatal overdose of heroin for her boyfriend Garry (Geoff Rhoe). Ultimately, Debbie and Sue become disillusioned with the sexism and narrow-mindedness of their crowd. Puberty Blues (1981) was based on the book of the same name by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey, a pair of real-life Sydney teens who wrote newspaper articles under the pseudonym "The Salami Sisters." ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Cast
Nell Schofield - Debbie
Jad Capelja - Sue
Geoff Rhoe - Garry
Sandy Paul - Tracy
Jay Hackett - Bruce; Ned Lander - Strach; Tina Robinson - Freda; Kirrily Nolan - Mrs. Vickers; Alan Cassell - Mr. Vickers; Rowena Wallace - Mrs. Knight; Charles "Bud" Tingwell - Headmaster; Tony Hughes - Danny; Pamela Gibbons - Jazz ballet teacher; Brian Harrison - Mr. Little; Brian Anderson - Drive-in Attendent; Andrew Martin - Berkhoff
Credit
Sue Armstrong - Costume Designer, Mark Egerton - First Assistant Director, Bruce Beresford - Director, Jeanine Chialvo - Editor, William M. Anderson - Editor, Tim Finn - Composer (Music Score), Jim Manzie - Composer (Music Score), Les Gock - Composer (Music Score), Les Gock - Musical Direction/Supervision, Tim Finn - Songwriter, David Copping - Production Designer, Donald M. McAlpine - Cinematographer, Joan Long - Producer, Margaret Kelly - Producer, Margaret Kelly - Screenwriter, Gabrielle Carey - Book Author, Kathy Lette - Book Author
The film is based on the 1979 novel Puberty Blues, by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette, which is a proto-feminist teen novel about two 13 year-old girls from the Sutherland Shire in Sydney, Australia. The girls attempt to create a popular social status by integrating themselves with the "Greenhill gang" of surfers.
For censorship reasons, in the film their age was upped to 16. Much of the content of the novel appears in the film, with several passages of text recounted by the film's protagonist Debbie (Nell Schofield) in a voice over narration. The film closely follows the story and character trajectory of the novel. Some of the novel's characters are composites in the film. The tone of the novel is generally darker than that of the film, and in the novel Debbie and her best friend Sue who join the surfer gang are shown to be much more willing participants in activities than they are in the film. Some of the darker moments of the book have been removed or softened for the film. The film adds a comedy beach brawl between the surfers and the lifeguards that does not feature in the novel.
Much of the obscure surfer slang of the novel has been omitted from the film. The novel features some discussion about television series Number 96. One passage of the novel that mentions the title is recounted by the film's protagonist in a voice over narration, but because the series had ended by the time of the 1981 film the series title is replaced by the generic term "television".
Behind the scenes
Lead actor in the film, Nell Schofield, said that "It's a very honest and realistic movie. It touches on this and it touches on that. I really like it. It's subtle and doesn't preach: 'This is the way of life.'" Schofield felt that "Different sections of the audience will perceive different levels. The parents who go and see it will come out and either believe it or it will give them a bit of a jolt. They'll start looking at their kids a different way and try to bridge the generation gap." She added that "The film is feminist in a way. I think it is also a comment on peer group pressure, male chauvinism in teenage groups, school and parent hassles." [1]
Schofield found the surfing scenes easy because she was an avid surfer in real life. "Like Debbie, I wanted to be a surfie chick. But once I was, I wanted out before it got too heavy. I hated the alcohol and the drug scene. I saw so many kids fall down on the ground after taking drugs." Of making the film Schofield said "We didn't expect any glitter, and we didn't get any. It was hard work." [1]
