Gidget was noteworthy for being one of the first beach/surf movies. Sandra Dee is perfect as the original Gidget, a teenager trying to sort out her feelings about boys and being popular during the summer between her junior and senior years in high school. Dee exudes beauty, charm, determination, energy, and innocence as the peppy Gidget. James Darren is Moondoggie, the spoiled college beach bum who idolizes the carefree surfer's lifestyle illustrated by the big kahuna played by Cliff Robertson. Robertson hardly stretches his range as the big kahuna, a mentor to Gidget and the rest of the surfers.
Mary Laroche and Arthur O'Connell play Gidget's parents as strictly from squares-ville. O'Connell especially fits the mold of a typically overreacting parent, circa 1959, chasing after Gidget one night when he discovers that Gidget might be alone with a man, gasp! Laroche is more reserved and proper as Gidget's mother who dispenses no shortage of homespun advice about being a teenage girl to Gidget. Gidget's girlfriends play a much smaller role in this film than in the sequels that followed. There is also less music and dancing in this original version than in the films that follow it.
As the summer draws to a close, Moondoggie and the big kahuna face some tough decisions regarding their futures, and Gidget inadvertently plays a role in influencing both of them. The film balances the fun and innocence of being 1950's teenagers with the larger message of being responsible and patient about one's future. Although Moondoggie initially rescues Gidget from getting caught in some kelp, the film does a good job of making Gidget a well-rounded person instead of just another helpless female waiting to be rescued by her male co-star throughout the picture. Doug McClure and Tom Laughlin have bit roles as fellow surfer bums. The film was followed by two theatrical sequels, a television series, a few more made for television movies, and still another brief series in the mid 1980's. **1/2 of 4 stars.
Mary Laroche and Arthur O'Connell play Gidget's parents as strictly from squares-ville. O'Connell especially fits the mold of a typically overreacting parent, circa 1959, chasing after Gidget one night when he discovers that Gidget might be alone with a man, gasp! Laroche is more reserved and proper as Gidget's mother who dispenses no shortage of homespun advice about being a teenage girl to Gidget. Gidget's girlfriends play a much smaller role in this film than in the sequels that followed. There is also less music and dancing in this original version than in the films that follow it.
As the summer draws to a close, Moondoggie and the big kahuna face some tough decisions regarding their futures, and Gidget inadvertently plays a role in influencing both of them. The film balances the fun and innocence of being 1950's teenagers with the larger message of being responsible and patient about one's future. Although Moondoggie initially rescues Gidget from getting caught in some kelp, the film does a good job of making Gidget a well-rounded person instead of just another helpless female waiting to be rescued by her male co-star throughout the picture. Doug McClure and Tom Laughlin have bit roles as fellow surfer bums. The film was followed by two theatrical sequels, a television series, a few more made for television movies, and still another brief series in the mid 1980's. **1/2 of 4 stars.