Sandra Dee's "Gidget" is too naiive to be real by teen standards today, but what a fun trip to the late 50's past it is! She is determined to surf with the slightly older teen boys...and along the way she meets the grown "Big Kahuna"...a beachcomber guy who has no job but just surfs and leads a pack of teen boys to surf all day long...
And she bumps heads with "Moondoggie" a boy near her age...Of course, she ends up with Moondoggie...and even the cynical "Big Kahuna" shapes up his act...because of little Gidget's influence!
I love the 50's shirtwaist dresses, crop tops and original capri style pants...and the great old cars!
The only slightly creepy thing is Gidget thinks she's not a woman because she came home "as pure as the driven snow". Mom does not do what I would have done...(I'd freak out & ask who was trying to seduce my underage daughter!!!) She does point to a late Victorian embroidered sampler hung on Gidget's bedroom wall which says "To be a Real Woman is to Bring out the Best in a Man". Hmmm Somehow Gidget never read that little sampler!
That said, the movie is fun to watch. I'd use the slightly disturbing portion where Gidget tries to get seduced in order to "become a woman" to discuss with my tween or teen aged children why that lifestyle choice is foolish. Otherwise, Gidget actually exhibits some beginning strengths of character in her quest to find herself. She is not afraid to question her world and the adults around her.
Enjoy the late 50's dresses, cars, and the beautiful California beaches and surf culture!!!
And she bumps heads with "Moondoggie" a boy near her age...Of course, she ends up with Moondoggie...and even the cynical "Big Kahuna" shapes up his act...because of little Gidget's influence!
I love the 50's shirtwaist dresses, crop tops and original capri style pants...and the great old cars!
The only slightly creepy thing is Gidget thinks she's not a woman because she came home "as pure as the driven snow". Mom does not do what I would have done...(I'd freak out & ask who was trying to seduce my underage daughter!!!) She does point to a late Victorian embroidered sampler hung on Gidget's bedroom wall which says "To be a Real Woman is to Bring out the Best in a Man". Hmmm Somehow Gidget never read that little sampler!
That said, the movie is fun to watch. I'd use the slightly disturbing portion where Gidget tries to get seduced in order to "become a woman" to discuss with my tween or teen aged children why that lifestyle choice is foolish. Otherwise, Gidget actually exhibits some beginning strengths of character in her quest to find herself. She is not afraid to question her world and the adults around her.
Enjoy the late 50's dresses, cars, and the beautiful California beaches and surf culture!!!