Movie Review: Gidget (1959)

Genre: Coming Of Age Beach Dramedy  

Director: Paul Wendkos  

Starring: Sandra Dee, James Darren, Cliff Robertson  

Running Time: 95 minutes  

Synopsis: In the Malibu area of Los Angeles, Francine (Sandra Dee) is about to turn 17, but worried that she is physically underdeveloped compared to her girlfriends and still not romantically interested in boys. But all that changes when she discovers a passion for surfing and develops a crush on "Moondoggie" (James Darren), who is part of a surfer group led by aging beach bum "The Big Kahuna" (Cliff Robertson). The surfers assign her the nickname Gidget, and she tries to use jealousy to win Moondoggie's heart, resulting in complications with Kahuna.

What Works Well: One of the earliest movies to move away from portraying teenagers as dangerous outcasts, here both the girls and the guys are more interested in having wholesome fun, flirting, and grappling with hormones. Summer is all about frolicking on the beach, surfing is cool, and Sandra Dee is a winning presence navigating the seemingly impossible path from girlhood to adulthood. Gabrielle Upton's script (based on Frederick Kohner's book) surprisingly also explores some dark manhood issues through Kahuna, who is hiding from himself as a professional beach bum.

What Does Not Work As Well: This roughly edited low-budget production is confined to a few filming locations, with plenty of screen time consumed by distant silhouetted surfers filmed from the beach. Although the romance does find a clever resolution, the third act is particularly clumsy, and a late-in-the-day fistfight injects traditional macho posturing in direct contradiction of hang loose surfer ethos.

Key Quote:

Gidget: What'll happen to your future? I mean, doesn't everybody have to have a goal or something?

Kahuna: Who said? There's your answer, little one. Who said?



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