Gregory's Girl (1981)

Sweet and funny
What a good film. Wholesome and fresh after all these years. When will someone put Bill Forsyth's "Comfort and Joy" out on DVD for the US market?

Try this pastry
Name the last "coming-of-age" teen comedy you saw that didn't rely on a barrage of cheap jokes or compromising situations with fresh-baked pastries for laughs. I would have to go all the way back to 1981, for writer-director Bill Forsyth's delightful examination of puppy love, Scottish style. Gawky teenager Gregory (John Gordon Sinclair) goes gaga for Dorothy (Dee Hepburn), a fellow soccer player on the school team. Gregory receives love advice from an unlikely mentor, his little sister (Allison Forster). His male classmates offer advice as well, but of course they are just as clueless as he is (although they put on airs of having deep insight on the subject of girls, naturally). In fact, Forsyth gets a lot of mileage out of that most basic truth about adolescence-the girls are usually light years ahead of the boys when it comes to the mysteries of love. Not as precious as you might think, as Forsyth is a master of low-key anarchy and understated irony. Some viewers may have trouble navigating the thick Scottish accents, but it is well worth the extra work. Also starring Clare Grogan, whom 80s music fans may recall as lead singer of Altered Images (their biggest hit was "I Could Be Happy") and Red Dwarf fans will recognize as the original "Kristine Kochanski".

Gregory's Girl
Bill Forsyth's delightful coming-of-age film rings consistently true, recreating those universal growing pains experienced by boys in their teens. Lovely Scotland setting (admittedly with some thick accents to decipher) and appealing juvenile performances make this a keeper. Forster is adorable as Gregory's wise, precocious sister. A subtle charmer.