Puberty Blues (1981) User Reviews

HAS SOME MERIT

[jdaniels-4 · 6/10 · 11 March 2003]

Unintentionally hilarious? Well sometimes yes, but it's also a film that deserves to be more than just "forgotten" Why? because it depicts, in a fairly accurate manner, a slice of Australian culture from the 1970's. Based on the book of the same name by Kathy Lette & Gabrielle Carey, it's the story of two teenage girls growing up near the beachside suburb of Cronulla. Watching the film today, you wish that the characters weren't so one-dimensional, and that a more balanced view of society wasn't shown, but this is the girls' story & it's told from their perspective. Anyone who lived near a beach or even just went to school in Australia around that time can surely recognise some of the scenes depicted. Other people may be merely baffled however, as films with a strong cultural relevance sometimes have little or no meaning to outsiders. Good or bad though, this is not an Australian film to simply dismissed.

Nothing new but enjoyable

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 20 December 2007]

Movie about two Australian girls--Debbie (Nell Schofield) and Sue (Sue Knight)--and what happens when they become girlfriends of two surfer guys.

I caught this at an art cinema here in America in 1981. Technically I was still a teenager (I was 19) so I was interested in seeing how Australian teens acted. Script wise there's nothing new here. It shows the usual teenage adventures dealing with dating, sex, suicide etc etc. I always knew what was going to happen before it did but I was never bored. What I found interesting was, despite the accent and a few changes in clothes and hair, these teenagers aren't much different than American teens. They had many of the same difficulties and hang-ups. Also this was based on a book from a real surfer girl and her true life adventures and (I heard) it was a faithful adaptation of it. The acting was just OK but the actors were attractive and this was well-made and pretty interesting. So this is no unsung masterpiece but a pretty accurate portrayal of what it's like being a teenager and trying to be with the popular kids. I give it a 7.

A chick flick but still worth a look

[a-haake · 7/10 · 10 February 2005]

I don't know if I'd go as far as to say that this movie belongs to the 'Aussie trash' pile, but it's fair to say that there are no Academy Award nominees here. What must be considered is that most of the actors in this film weren't actually actors as such, just kids with nothing better to do at the time. There were many others that were offered roles in the film but turned them down to go surfing up the coast; all things taken into account, it really wasn't a bad movie for its time. In some respects it's really not unlike today's times, where peer pressure is still alive and kicking, just without the mobile phones, computers and other similar gadgets that kids lived without, unlike this generation. Anyway, I have to rate this flick as an old fave that I watch once in a blue moon and never take too seriously...

Yes, it really was like it back then.

[ozzy_marco · 1 October 2003]

I went to High School in the Sutherland Shire during the 1970's, the time and place that this film is set in. The coolest kids at my school were Cronulla surfies and surfie-chicks, and guess what? They were EXACTLY as depicted in this film. And although the dialogue sounds camp-trash today, that was how we spoke back then. "Dead set", "far out", "what a moll" - these are phrases from my youth. They could have added a few more to the script, actually. "Bush pig" (an easy root) and "fang it" (drive very fast) would have added further authenticity to the script.

So, when you're watching this movie, keep in mind its like a time capsule, and a look into a lost period in time. (The Caringbah drive-in, where the famous "root in the panel van" scene was set and shot, is now a huge hardware and homeware complex. I got a little misty-eyed when I saw the Drive-in gates appear on the screen.) Its like southern Sydney's version of American Graffiti.

By the way, 22 years after this movie was made, North Cronulla hasn't changed very much at all.

A very eighties look at teenage life by the beach

[Belinda · 6/10 · 3 August 1999]

Puberty Blues is a movie about being a teenager.. unlike it's American, high budget counterparts such as Pretty in Pink or Fast Times at Ridgemont High, it is a very honest look at life as a teenager. It centres around two girls who are trying to fit in with the "surfie chick" crowd and to do so must participate in the usual teenage antics (sex, drinking, cheating on History tests etc.). What the film lacks in plot, budget and acting it makes up for with sheer honesty - there's no ultra happy "feel-good" ending like in the formentioned counterparts, but instead you are left with the impression that life really was like that for them. All in all, one to be seen, but forgotten.

That 70's, nearly 80's, high school film

[NestorTheGreat · 6/10 · 21 June 2021]

The sexual revolution arrived late down under, yet for some Cronulla schoolies they're trying to keep it going. The title warns you it's a Blues, no sappy love song nor rock n' roll, so don't expect a Hollywood heartwarming story. This is a tale of pure Aussie adolescence- no holds barred- the bare, naked truth in all it's awkward, hilarious and depressing form!

Awful

[Tak005 · 1/10 · 19 November 2021]

This film does show how life was growing up in 1970s Australia. However, the acting and script are appalling. It also depicts rape as normal without consequences for any of the parties involved. An utter awful film.

Evocative and entertaining

[Rrrobert · 7/10 · 29 January 2019]

Well-paced, evocative and entertaining story of two high school girls who successfully ingratiate themselves into the cool surfer gang. There they are introduced to a world of cheating on exams, smoking, lying to parents, sexism, drinking, perfunctory sex, and drugs.

Though ostensibly the story of best friends Debbie (Nell Schofield) and Sue (Jad Capelja), this is Debbie's story. Debbie is the more dominant of the two actively rejecting the nerds and pushing for inclusion in the cool gang. Sue seems pretty happy with the status quo, but will tag along with Debbie. This keeps the story simpler as Debbie has two troubled relationships, becomes disillusioned, and yearns for a more fulfilling existence. Sue quickly takes up with the most sympathetic of the boys, Danny (Tony Hughes), for a much quieter life.

Apart from Debbie you don't get much insight into the characters though there is some exploration of the troubled Garry (Jeffrey Rhoe). The adult characters seem like caricatures, but this is Debbie's story and that's probably how they seemed to her.

The unmannered performances from the young cast are generally good, adding to the sense of realism, while Schofield is excellent. The music is good and well-used. A few overt comedy scenes seem forced and the film much more effective when it sticks to drama.

Terrible and forgettable

[danielbardem · 1/10 · 17 June 2011]

One of the worst films I've ever seen and the most unintentionally funny.

Scenes in this movie come and go with no rhyme or reason- they are completely interchangeable, showing the most hyperbolic portrayal of teenagers I've ever seen.

The dialogue is the most unapologetically embarrassing and predictable I've ever heard.

The "twist" of the movie, involving the death of a character who's name I honestly couldn't be bothered remembering, provided me with great amusement. I had joked about what would be the most obvious death for the character with my friend-given the embarrassing dialogue had awkwardly and obviously "hinted" at it constantly throughout the film-and when the movie confirmed them it may just as well have given up.

Besides a grossly out of of place "hi-larious" fight scene and the aforementioned awful dialogue, this is a thoroughly forgettable and terrible Australian movie.

Taken from my blog at http://aguywholikesmovies.blogspot.com/

Real teen drama only rises to the average

[videorama-759-859391 · 6/10 · 3 February 2014]

On the surface, this film can be seen for what it is, a stark realization of teen angst in Cronulla, at the start of the eighties. Inseparable friends, Debbie and Sue, want to travel with the cool gang, but first must endure the humiliation and sucking up to get there. Granted, these scenarios were very real in that very real time. PB is a very realistic movie, with lot a laughable moments, because they're relatable. It also has one tragic moment too. PB is very entertaining, I must says and deals with real teen issues. But to be honest, I couldn't stand the guys of this popular group, more a bunch of rude surfie pigs, which to be part of em', guy or girl, wouldn't be worth the trouble. After all, I have my pride. In fact, they got more annoying, as the movie went on. The message sent here, is "be you for you are, and don't conform to fit in with others, while letting your real values or talents suffer". When the two girls finally excel in their tries of surfing, it's a morning of victory, despite some of the negative reactions from those pigs. Great opening wide shot of Cronulla beach, crawling with beachgoers, plus I like Bruce's meeting with Debbie's olds. Almost priceless, as also the interior walls of his panel van, filled with lewd pictures. Also, watch how quick it takes for a whole cake to go off, when devoured by those thankless pigs. Very real performances that are in no way great, but convincing, the older veteran stars better. Much alike, FJ Holden you could say, that should of also spawned a t.v. show, but this movie is too basic, and simplistic, especially if viewing it, in today's times, with not the most original dialogue.

crap

[mel0001 · 1/10 · 13 August 2006]

i believe that this movie was a terrible waste of my time, and i would know after watching it 5 times in class. this movie does not show what absolutely perfectly happened during these times. no one can truly say that these things happened to the letter. if anything the only good part would be the actors, even tho that they were really really crap.they were reading the script without expression. quite boring. i would rather watch play school. so i would definitely like to never ever see this movie again in my whole life. it is a complete waste of time unless you want your time to be wasted and if you would like to see an unrealistic view of what happened back in 1981.

Too true to life as it was in suburban coastal oz

[kingslisa · 9/10 · 24 November 2012]

As a 14 year old I saw a snippet of Puberty Blues and thought it was boring. Now more than 30 years later, I realise my 14 year old self was correct but for different reasons. It was "boring" because it was like watching a mirror image of my life, a life I was dissatisfied with, but ultimately trapped. Watching the movie in its entirety now it makes me realise that my life was normal, as that was just the way things were. It is depressing, but validating. I wonder how it got the funding to be made and what was the demographic that went to see it at the cinema? I for one didn't want to see my life on screen - you went to the cinema to escape, not relive what you already experienced. I give it an A for realism, for better or worse.

Slightly distorted title...

[tim-764-291856 · 6/10 · 11 June 2012]

Yes, Bruce Bereford's 1981 drama does explore the "blues" of schoolgirl Australians at a Sydney school. Except they must have gone through puberty at least four or five years earlier.

This colourful beach'n'surf high school drama follows a group of late- teen girls who are itching to infiltrate the world of surfer dudes who are their male idols. Much in the same almost clichéd way that U.S. football players are the supposed target for cheerleaders, this disparate bunch just want to lose their virginity and be accepted as young adults.

Neighbours and Home & Away (not that I really watched those soaps) it is not. Back thirty years ago, the natural dialogue must have seemed fresh and both invigorating or shocking, depending on your age and such. I can imagine the home teen audience then (here 15 certificate) flocking to see it. However, this isn't a competitor for those knowing, amoral and sassy American 'youth' dramas, from the likes of John Hughes.

Firstly, the characters are all a bit colourless, with no-one standing out as having any charisma to speak of. The awkward fumblings of half- hidden sex scenes arrive within twenty or so minutes, all totally unromantic and un-erotic. Secondly, we've all seen (& most probably tried) the usual experimenting with cigarettes, alcohol and soft drugs, with headmasters going off on one, and so these scenes are just regurgitating the same old stuff.

Finally, the film looks and feels dated. It won't capture the imagination of today's late teenage audience and holds no trump cards for us older ones to latch onto. There's precious little actual surfing, so it's not for them, either. There are some nice scenes at the start with beautiful bodies on golden sands getting as many inches of their bodies exposed to the sun as legally possible, but you can (sort of) get that in a holiday brochure.

There are some attempts at comedy, such as a fight on the beach, with dubbed-on karate chop noises but just aren't funny, at least now. It does end on an upbeat note though, which is actually quite welcome. One of the (few) highlights, for me, at least, were a couple of female-sung cover versions of Split Enz songs, one of my favourite bands and in the early 80's were popular over here as well as their native New Zealand. Pleasantly odd when two of your favourite songs start playing and they fit perfectly, lyrically - and mood-wise - into the narrative.

I watched it as part of the 12 disc box set 'Australian Cinema Collection'.

Just abysmal...

[bricepaul · 1/10 · 14 October 2021]

Atrocious acting, terrible script, incoherent direction and the most ridiculous dialogue. There can be little doubt that this is the worst film ever made.

Interesting, if somewhat flawed portrait, of Australian teen surfer culture

[lazarillo · 11 September 2011]

This is an early effort from acclaimed Aussie director Bruce Beresford. It was made during the period of the "Australian New Wave" of the 70's and early 80's when there was a proliferation of both of government-sponsored artistic fare and more commercially-minded genre fare emerging from Down Under. The story concerns two teenage girls who decide to join the popular clique at school, even though that mostly seems to mean lying around sunbathing with their most beautiful but most vapid female peers or having embarrassing sex with dimwitted male surfers in the back of a boogie van at the drive-in while all their friends sit in the front.

This is a well-made and fairly realistic film, but it suffers from the same problems as a lot of the teen-oriented movies made in other countries. First off, both the female and male characters look at least five years too old to be teenagers and they are all unusually attractive. One of the female leads kind of approaches ordinary-looking, but the other one, and about every other actor in the cast (even the supposed "nerds") is extraordinarily good-looking. Frankly, it would be easier to sympathize with these virginal girls being taken advantage of by muscle-headed male surfers if they didn't all look like Nichole Kidman (who isn't in this, but would have blended right in). Beresford's camera also spends so much time lingering on barely clad, nubile bodies that I sometimes felt like I was watching a David Hamilton film. Not that there's anything wrong with that necessarily, but it does kind of detract from the seriousness of the film a little bit.

On the plus side, this is an interesting portrait of the late 70's Australian teen surf culture, and it is certainly well-crafted as a film. There was a reason Beresford would go onto to international fame with films like "Breaker Morant". This is somewhat flawed, but an interesting film nevertheless.

A likable coming-of-age drama/comedy from 'down under'.

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 14 September 2017]

In my local video rental shop, Puberty Blues sat on the same shelf as coming of age classics Porky's, Screwballs and the Lemon Popsicle series. Whereas those films followed the exploits of horny young males trying to get laid, Puberty Blues centres around a couple of girls, best friends Debbie Vickers (Nell Schofield) and Sue Knight (Jad Capelja), who strive to be part of the cool surfer clique. Other than this gender swap, it's business as usual, with the central characters breaking all the rules, drinking, smoking, getting stoned and, of course, rooting (as the Aussies call it).

While there's nothing particularly groundbreaking on offer, the smart direction, naturalistic performances, and a carefully balanced blend of realistic drama and silly comedy (craziest moment being a beach fight between the surfer dudes and the lifeguards) all go to make Puberty Blues a fun little movie, especially for those looking for a blast of '80s nostalgia.

Surf city

[tonywalker-27813 · 7/10 · 3 October 2021]

A reasonable portrayal of the surfing scene in the 70's .

Who wrote this s**t?

[therealdrbyte · 1/10 · 21 December 2019]

That was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it in 1981 aged17

May resonate with a teenage audience. 65%

[dfle3 · 6/10 · 19 September 2014]

I saw this a very long time ago on a V.H.S. rental. Didn't remember too much of it, apart from the catchy theme. This year, I think, I recorded it from a very early morning broadcast on ABC TV. Got around to watching it last weekend. Since I was quite young when I first saw it, I have to say that I got more out of it as an adult.

The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette. BTB, the latter is married to my favourite lawyer/host of TV (best on the ABC but also on a commercial network) hypotheticals Geoffrey Robertson. Even though I haven't read the book, I'm under the impression that it is autobiographical in nature. It concerns the life of two teenage girls, Debra and Sue, and their attempt to become part of the 'cool' gang of surfie chicks who hang around their boyfriends who like nothing better than to surf.

What really struck me watching this film again was how sociological some of the narrative is. E.g. "If you weren't a surfer chick, you were a nobody, a nerd. If you wanted to get into the gang, you had to crawl after and suck up to all the gang girls". There's an interesting analysis of beaches around where the film is set: South Cronulla ("dickhead land", where "L-plate" surfers, Italian families and the "uncool kids from Bankstown" go; North Cronulla, and Greenhill, where the top surfie gang hung out...everybody is trying to get there. The narrator (not sure, but I think it's Debra) identifies the pair of them as "dickheads"! The other quote which I made a note of was: "If you were pimply, a migrant or just plain ugly you couldn't get a boyfriend. If you couldn't get a boyfriend, there were two options: you could be a prude or a moll. Being a prude was too boring. If you were a moll at least people knew who you were". I suspect that these sociological observations were drawn from the book.

The film has themes of teenage sex and drug use. So, I'm not sure that I'd recommend this film for pre-teens and especially ones younger than that. It's not that the film is explicit, but it's pretty obvious what's going on.

Issues of class also surface in this movie. Debra is from a higher social strata than the boys she longs to hang out with. How Debra and Sue categorise the world and place people and things into those categories is interesting. E.g. surfer boys and the girls that hang around them are deemed to be "cool". Yet none of them are academically adept. I did find it amusing how Debra's family reacts when she leaves with surfer boy Bruce in his panel van. That provides an alternative perspective to how the two girls organise the world around them.

There are two narrative elements which I wish to mention: 01) There's a scene where a "moll" gets into the surfer boys' panel van. It looks like things will take a dark turn here, but then it veers into comedic territory. Having briefly glanced at the Wikipedia entry for the book or movie, this seems to be, perhaps, one of the issues one of the book's authors (at least) complained about...the dilution of serious themes in the novel. For that reason, I think it would be interesting to read the book. However, even though the movie took a light tone for part of that scene, it does end with pathos when the boys return to the city in their panel van. 02) Personally, I didn't make too much of the following, but it seems as if the author(s) did...there is a rather pat resolution to a narrative thread concerning the consequences of one of the two girl's relationship with a boy in the film. Based on my glancing of the Wikipedia article, that seems another big (?) departure from the novel. Speaking of which, I did find the all in brawl on the beach scene to be pure slapstick...and the Wikipedia article did state that this scene was not in the novel.

Having glanced at Wikipedia's entry for the book and/or movie, it's mentioned that the movie tones down the teenage lingo used in the book. Some expressions which came up which left me clueless were: "vos tossa" (there's a later scene where "vaseline" is mentioned...maybe it's a phrase related to that?) and "Don't Bogart it"...the subtitles didn't have a capital "B" in that phrase...I'm assuming it's based on the old Hollywood star.

The end of the movie is interesting...it bookends with the start, in a way. Perhaps this is what they unconsciously desired all along, instead of the boys' gang?

I wouldn't regard this as a great film but I would think that it would be more meaningful to the target audience...teenagers. It's also interesting how this Australian movie has some sociological equivalences to American teen movies, with their own social taxonomy, like "nerd", "cheerleader", "jock" and "freak", etc.

Random observations:

* Music is by the great Tim Finn...although none of the songs are sung by him! The female singer or singers aren't credited, but Wikipedia does give that information. It seems to me that some interesting songs are uncredited, including a punk sounding Australian song (the pool scene. There is also a musical passage which sounds like a rejigged "Song for Guy", by Elton John.

* The opening credits are horrible...a garish, meretricious blue cursive, I think.

* Oddly, I kept thinking that the movie didn't actually name the two central female characters...but I was disabused of this belief by glancing at the start of the movie again and some other places.

P.S. as of the last couple of years, there has been a TV series based on this book or movie.

Australian surf culture? Rack off!

[tonypeacock-1 · 4/10 · 17 October 2022]

I have a somewhat morbid fascination with Australian cinema and on the whole I find it entertaining and interesting, especially the survival films in the desolate outback setting. However I can quite honestly say this is the weakest example of Australian cinema (in its Australian new wave heyday as well!) that I have encountered! It compares with one of those cheap Australian television soap-operas about surfer culture as well as more loosely other films from world cinema such as Grease (1978) and Rita, Sue and Bob Too! (1987).

It tells the story of two teenage schoolgirls and their trials and tribulations as they attempt to make their way up the Sydney surfer circuit despite their middle class upbringing and school being the exact opposite role models in that respect.

I only found mild amusement at a scene where one of the girls introduces her surfer boyfriend who doesn't have much going on between the ears to her prim and proper parents!

Directed by Australian cinema veteran Bruce Beresford who has a varied filmography some of which I have already delved into. Puberty Blues started life as a book and seems to have evolved into a streaming TV series more recently. It's a film I will never watch again. For die-hard Australian cinephiles only!

Aussie Teen Social Ritualistic Movie 1980's

[soutee · 8/10 · 16 November 2008]

Debbie Vickers (Nell Schofield) and Sue Knight (Jad Capelja) want to become one of the cool girls in their high school. Uncool and ugly girls had two options, be a mole or a prude! Debbie and Sue imitate them by using their cheating practices in an exam. Two of the cool boys, Garry (Goeff Rhoe) and Danny (Tony Hughes) ask them for their answers and they all get busted. After a bawling out from the headmaster (Bud Tingwell) the cool girls meet them outside in the playground and confronted them about whether they "dobbed" on them all. As Debbie and Sue hadn't the cool girls invited them to the "dunnies" for a smoke. They then start to hang with them on weekends at the beach, watching all the boys surf. Sue ends up going out with Danny and Debbie with Garry. A lot of usual teenage action takes place including sex, drugs and rock and roll. Garry has an eventual overdose of heroin which makes Debbie face the inequalities of life and she decides to learn to surf instead of just watching the boys. They are not happy but watch her, calling names, and eventually Debbie masters the board. A cool early 80s Aussie film.

Absolute goldmine of Aussie Trash one-liners

[Glamwog · 25 April 2001]

Yeah, I agree with the previous comment that this film was probably meant as a serious way to reach teenagers at the turn of the 80s, but now is surely filed in the 'cult' section of most video stores and hired out by trash-lovers as a nifty snapshot of suburban middle-class Sydney and surfie-culture in the late 70s. Classic lines include: 'don't hurt him, i'll screw ya, i'll screw the lot of ya's!!', 'aw, she's just a moll', and 'comin' out the back for a root?' Embarrassing-skeletons-in-the-closet awards must go to Tim Finn (Split Enz etc.) for writing the title song, and Les Gock (currently of Popstars fame - you know, he's the one that manages new pop sensation Scandal-us) who was also responsible for some of the music. Fans of Aussie trash such as Prisoner CBH will love this - everyone else, steer clear, you'll just think it's boring and crap.

Classic Aussie Surfing Flick

[sydneyswesternsuburbs · 10/10 · 12 June 2011]

Director Bruce Beresford who also created other classic flicks, Black Robe 1991, Breaker Morant 1980 and Money Movers 1978 has created another gem in Puberty Blues.

Starring Nell Schofield.

Also starring Jad Capelja.

I enjoyed the surfing, beach, school, sex, drive-in, panel van and drug scenes.

I also enjoyed seeing the various scenes of Sydney.

If you liked this as much as I did then check out other classic surfing flicks, Dust Off the Wings 1997, Blue Juice 1995, Drift 2013 and Newcastle 2008.

Camp

[niibu_yaa · 23 March 2003]

This movie, as many have noted, is not exactly an example of great film making. It goes over well because of it's camp value. Scores of interesting to silly one liners, that are sure to amuse any viewer from somewhere other than the films country of origin. I originally rented this movie several years ago when I was in college, mainly because it was in the "foreign film" section. After getting over the shock of how bad the dialouge was, I started to enjoy it. To this day I have some strange desire to go to Australia and ask some if they: "Fancy a root."

absolutely hilarious

[cleo_81 · 22 November 2000]

This movie is genius for the viewer who enjoys to kick back and "laugh their tits off" at the shameless eighties Aussie that lives in the coolest world of "deadset" and "do reckon Darren is going to want a root tonight?". If you enjoyed "The Castle" this movie is for you, however in that great Aussie tribute to serenity and dream'in, it was clearly intentional humour, yet in this film you get the feeling that they are seriously attempting to reach the troubled teen. Well if that was what Bruce Beresford was going for it didn't really work out, from the classy root scene in the panel van at the Cronulla drive-in to Cheryl galloping along the beach bareback on some inbred steed, which is apparently her abortion method for all those unwanted pregnancies, it is definitely a good laugh. Very dodgy, very Australian, a movie for those that can appreciate Australian culture and our ability not to take ourselves seriously. Its comic gold.