Gidget

Gidget is a really cute story.It shows the teens of today like myself what the teen movies we love today were like as they were just getting popular...it shows what the teens enjoyed before American Pie,She's All that and Cruel Intentions etc. I saw this in class but i'm glad i did...its becoming one of my favorite movies...yea some of it is kind of cheesy since its from 1950's but if your a teen and you see it in Blockbuster one day...rent it! you'll enjoy it.

I remember enjoying this movie when I saw it years ago on TV, so I decided to rent it on DVD, but it didn't register as well this time around. I believe this is the film that made Sandra Dee a big star, but her lack of acting skill really grated on me several times, especially when she was supposed to be bubbling over with enthusiasm, though several people here (not to mention contemporary fans) obviously thought she did a great job. On the other hand, she really was cute as a button, and the right age for her role (17), or perhaps even 2 years younger, if it's true about her birth date being falsified. I was surprised that Gidget's parents would be so concerned about her date not coming to her home to pick her up, but had no problem with their daughter spending all day, every day with an older, all-male crowd whom they never met! As for the movie itself, the obviously fake surfing shots annoyed me, and Gidget's first near-drowning made me think of the saying "When you're really drowning, you don't make much noise, because there's too much water coming in". I would have been more impressed with Moondoggie if he'd noticed something was wrong without a lot of fuss! Anyway, this film does have a bit more substance than some of the other "teen" movies of the time, and it's a pleasant way to spend 95 minutes.

It was alright, though I only saw the final half of the film. Hmmm, but for me, that's enough to write a review about it. Hmm, I guess I'd give it a 5/10 considering it's old, (but it's a classic). Sandra Dee's cute but too sissy. Um, whatelse, If this was a newer film, It'd have a higher rating. I Liked the plot: 7/10, but I didn't like some of the main characters (one including Gidget a.k.a "Frances" --Sandra DEE), or Moondoggie or even the guy with the big surf house he took Sandra into. NOw maybe he was the coolest of all of them. Maybe this was a teen flick at the time. Overall...I liked it enough to wanna watch the end all the way through, and I don't usually like to watch old movies ( I'm a teenager ). Anyway, I don't hate the film either cause it was cute with a little bit of puberty pizzaz from little girl to "Oh my Gosh-Babe". So....7/10 would be good.

It seems that while I was growing up, my best friend and I could not have a sleepover or a slumber party without watching "Gidget" and "Grease". We rented the former one day and we loved it instantly, slightly dated as it is. We totally identified with Gidget (the adorable Sandra Dee, God rest her soul), who summed up the innocence and longing of teenage love. Our favorite lines were, "Yeah, but what if the young man doesn't know you're alive?" and, " 'To be a real woman is to bring out the best in a man.' Tell that to the boys today." We, of course, couldn't help but remark, "More like today!" It's easy to see why this film inspired so many beach movies of the 60s. We found it particularly amusing how protective and neurotic Gidget's father (Arthur O'Connell) was, and how he wanted her to date suitable college boys. And James Darren was so great as Moondoggie, and he even got to croon a great love tune! It's priceless when Gidget gets one of the surf boys, Hot Shot, to help her make Moondoggie jealous, and Hot Shot backs out of their deal, and Moondoggie steps up to the plate, completely unaware that he was the intended target. Gidget then pretends that it's the Big Kahuna (a young, buff, and tanned Cliff Robertson) she's out to get, and ends up getting in a little deeper than she planned to. Of course, it all works out in the end. But this movie is a treasure. Now that it's available on DVD, so many people can enjoy it. It takes you back to a simpler time, but at the same moment you can identify with the characters. You may even want to learn how to surf! Best of all, it is a great tribute to Sandra Dee, in her most famous role. "Gidget" is one in a million! The DVD: While I'm glad I found these great movies in a DVD collection, the formats are no different than the pan and scan VHS tapes that have been in circulation for so long. The original film, in particular, suffers. At least TCM airs it in widescreen, and then the color looks crisp, clear and glorious. Columbia has done the same injustice to countless vintage gems, such as "The Trouble With Angels" and its sequel, "Where Angels Go Trouble Follows". Viewers had to clamor for "Tess" to be released in widescreen format, a special edition, but much of the film's condition had not been cleaned up - lines across the screen, hissy sound. Columbia also has an annoying habit for not including extras, except for some theatrical trailers; a few classic films (Gilda, The Lady From Shanghai, etc) are lucky to have a featurette or a commentary. These movies and their stars deserve a much better reissuing and presentation on DVD than they have been given - film restoration is important in preserving film history. I am holding out hope that Sony will rerelease the Gidget films and some of the aforementioned in better quality conditions someday, but my hair might be grey by then. Here's a prayer that Sandra Dee's other great teen movie classic from 1959, "A Summer Place" (through Warner Brothers) due for a DVD release in a few days as of this writing, will be restored to widescreen, recapturing its theatrical glory that enchanted and captivated moviegoers way back when.

What a time capsule! A film that hearkens back to a cultural era of innocence, "Gidget" screams 1950s, with clothes, lingo, attitudes, and characters that now seem quaint. Gidget (Sandra Dee), that "pint size" sixteen-year-old who lives in Southern California, scampers down to the beach and takes an instant liking to surfing. In the process, she meets a fraternity of youthful, shirtless beach bums. Surfing, fun, and romantic complications ensue. All fluffy and frothy in the first half, the film's plot and characters reek of bubble-gum shallowness, with dialogue to match. But the plot turns more dramatic in the second half, and characters show at least some degree of depth. Gidget comes across as smart, determined and, given her age, dubiously skilled at psychology, with words that make a big impression on The Big Kahuna (Cliff Robertson), surfers' de facto leader. Ultimately, the film conveys the theme that events and people ... change. Visuals feature bright, splashy colors and a photogenic cast. Rear-screen projection and cast doubles, for the surfing scenes, look hokey now, but were the norm in those days. Music trends romantic and lively. Naturalistic sound of ocean waves enhances a relaxed, carefree tone. Although perhaps needed for story balance, plot sequences that involve Gidget's parents seem stodgy, and detract from the main focus on the relationship between Gidget and her beach pals. Sandra Dee, despite her squeaky voice, gives a performance that was better than I had expected. James Darren and Cliff Robertson add competent support. If ever there was a film that captures the carefree, innocent life of kids in the 1950s, this is surely it. Undeniably nostalgic to older viewers, and prehistoric to younger viewers, "Gidget" will continue to fascinate, emblematic of an era that will never return.

I don't think you can get much further away from the stuff I usually watch like Cannibal Holocaust or Zombi 2 than Sandra Dee and Gidget. It's impossible not to enjoy Dee's performance. She's bubbly, spunky, and cute. What's not to like? Overall, Gidget is a sweet little movie that, for the most part, is entertaining. On the downside, far too often the sweetness turns into sappiness - something I cannot stomach. Gidget is definitely a product of another time. Incidents that would automatically mean "sex" in a film made today are quite innocent and harmless in Gidget. A girl telling her mother that she wants to feel like a woman only means that she wants to fall in love and have a boyfriend. And watching with jaded 21st Century eyes, it's hard to imagine The Big Kahuna not being brought up on charges.

Squealing Sandra Dee is an underdeveloped sixteen-year-old in Southern California who is prodded by her friends into finding a man; she ingratiates herself to a bunch of good-hearted surfing boys, but only because she's genuinely interested in learning to surf (they soon realize she's different, but that doesn't stop romance from happening!). Ultra clean-cut growing pains comedy-drama, kept very light and lively, with poppy music and pretty, if repetitive, surfing footage. It is somewhat responsible for the string of surfing movies and TV shows which flooded the market in the 1960s...and yet, one hopes it will be better than it is. Sandra Dee doesn't really sparkle, and acts almost victimized when a guy comes onto her. Still, the picture was popular with similar girls and provides a soft, romantic sell to the fellas and to parents. It's as G-rated as can be. ** from ****

I watched this film for what seems like the very first time last night; in fact it may have been the very first time, even though I was probably 12 or 13 the first time it was on TV. Sally Fields's version of the character was on TV then, and it was generally a kind of ditsy role which would not move one to go back and watch the original, and the bulk of the surfer movies were so inane that focusing upon the movie that started it all was not high on my list of cinéaste priorities. Now that I've watched it I have several things to say. 1. THe "Big Kahuna" character played by Cliff Robertson is a gentle look at the beat generation. Disaffected after his return from the Korean War, the BK has decided to be a "surf bum," i.e., a beat. I'm not sure that we can see this character from that perspective today, but a couple of things should be explained: the BK had been an officer (as are all military pilots, by definition, today) and he was ironically aware of the pretense of his persona. 2. Gidget ("Francie") was an emotionally and physically underdeveloped girl, as symbolized by the fact that all of her girl "friends" are much more buxom than she. You will not find another girl with Sandra Dee's cup size in the entire picture. Her friend "BL," wearing a pixie cut, has been proposed to be a lesbian. but she has an active boy friend and has been "pinned" by him. Far from being symbolic of homosexuality, BL's haircut suggests that she is pehaps a bit more sophisticated than most of Francie's friends. 3. The razing of the kahuna's beach shack is symbolic of the ephemeral quality of the "culture" typified by the surfers and their friends. the fact that "Moondoggie" is also the boy Gidget's father has been trying to get her to meet and date all summer is a bitter irony: these boys and girls will become what they are "supposed" to become by the world in which they live.

I have loved this movie ever since the first time I saw it years ago when I was a preteen. Although it is an old movie, it is still quite enjoyable. It was made in 1959 so of course it lacks the newer features which todays movies emit. However, I think the simple, sweet story of first love is a nice escape from the harsh realities of todays world. I always choose movies that provide something I cannot find in real life. I prefer escaping the norm. If I want to see sex and violence all I have to do is watch the news. Gidget takes us all back to a simpler time and place where we can relive the memories of our youth or imagine how it might have been. I not only own the video but I also watch it on television whenever it airs. Having just finished watching again, I have to say that the idea that BL was a lesbian never entered my mind. They speak about how she has it made cause she wears her boyfriends pin. I always took that to mean that she was involved in a relationship with a guy who just happened to be away at college or working a lot. Just cause someone has short hair doesn't make them a lesbian in my mind and I think the person who made that comment was way off base and didn't really follow the conversations of the movie closely. I love all of the Gidget movies, however to me Sandra Dee will always be the ultimate Gidget and I am sad that we have lost her recently.

the film had loads of late 50s surfing symbols which had a lot to do with the surfing explosion of the mid-60s on the east coast. it had a sun loving and easy going lifestyle feel which accurately summed up California attitudes of the day. yes, glossy and middle of the road, but a huge surfing film nonetheless. in addition, there are subtle references to booze and sex. for nostalgic value, there isn't a boomer around who wouldn't be immediately mesmerized by this swinging movie. for surfers, the long boards are of interest. car lovers will love the vintage cars. the concept of the surfing shack was something not present on east coast beaches, and one wonders if the the local beach patrol would have allowed such a building to be built and occupied on a public beach. maybe in hawaii, but not California. the beach is assumed to be the famous surfing beach, malibu; however reference is made to santa monica. whatever, we know the movie is taking place in southern cali. if one were to guess the year, one is tempted to say early 60s--say, 1962 or 63. but the film is significant because it documents a solid, burgeoning beach culture which had been in place since the years immediately following W.W. 2. this film is a rich summation of what transpired on the beaches of southern California in the 1950s.