Director Ronald F. Maxwell's Little Darlings (1980) is an entertaining and heart-felt coming of age story wrapped up in the guise of a common teenage sex comedy. Despite some minor flaws it manages to make you laugh while also having some genuinely touching moments that really illustrate the angst of adolescent love with all of its conflicting and confusing emotions. This film is definitely a step above the typical teen movies that it is often compared to.
Angel Bright (Kristy McNichol) and Ferris Whitney (Tatum O'Neal) are two girls from two different worlds. Angel is a tough, independent girl from the wrong side of the tracks while Ferris comes from a world of wealth and privilege; they meet on the bus going to summer camp and take an immediate dislike to one another. Goaded on by the other girls, Angel and Ferris enter into a competition to lose their virginity and "become a woman" before the other does. Angel sets her sights on Randy (Matt Dillon), a boy from the camp on the other side of the lake. Ferris wants the camp's athletic instructor (Armand Assante) to give her some more intimate type of lessons. Now the competition is on. These two girls think that this is all a game; they are about to find out that they are wrong and there are consequences to their actions. And they might just find out that despite their differences they have a lot more in common than they would have thought.
This funny and tender comedy was really a vehicle for Tatum O'Neal and Kristy McNichol, both were at the heights of their fame when this was made and it is actually one of the better films in both actresses' careers. If you are a fan of one or the other (or both) then you will definitely enjoy the film and the interaction between them. They really work well together and bring an honest authenticity to the story, making it much more than just another teenage comedy. Even if you're not a big fan of either of these young actresses this movie is still funny enough to be worth your time. The film's comedy does fall flat a couple of times but as a whole it works and is very entertaining. The film's dramatic moments are also well done and are the reason that this film is better than most of its kind; these moments also make this movie much more poignant and real to the audience. Both of these talented young ladies have their dramatic moments in the film, but it is McNichol that has some of the best. Watching her realization of what she has lost and the pain and emptiness that she feels inside will touch anyone that has ever known the ache of young love; it is also a outstanding reminder of why this young actress won two Emmy Awards®. While the comedy is good it is these dramatic moments that raise this movie up to another level, making it much more than the standard teen comedy that it appears to be.
Buying note: Although this film is now out of print, it was available on full screen VHS tape for many years and should be easy to find on the internet or at other used video sources. Please note that there are two versions of this film on VHS, the original 1980's version (blue box) and a re-release from 1992 (red box). Because of licensing problems some songs from the original soundtrack were removed from the second release and replaced with generic music. There is also an Asian import DVD-R of this movie (1992 version) for sale on the internet, it is also full screen and simply looks to be the VHS print that someone has transferred onto DVD. Please note that this import DVD has no special features and has no better picture or sound quality than the VHS tape.
11-26-2005
