NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

johnnyboyz The scene in Bill Forsyth's 1981 film Gergory's Girl that goes a long way in cementing just how special, just how close it is to the work of genius, is the one in which, on preparation for a date with a girl, the lead male character is reminded of a joke that is what we perceive as a really dirty and unnecessary one given the scenario. The lead, sitting there struggling to recall it, suddenly does so and bursts out laughing. Such is the brilliance of the comedy in Gergory's Girl, that one of the best sequences of comedy is, in fact, one in which a joke is established to exist but never revealed thus acting as a moment of comedy all by itself. In this sequence, the boundaries between what can be classed as good, quality coming-of-age comedy and mindless, puerile coming-of-age comedy are established. Whereas many in numbers but lesser in greatness coming-of-age comedies from more recent times enjoy piling on smut and vulgarity, Gregory's Girl is able to establish such a thing exists within the universe of these characters but, crucially, amongst all the funny stuff going on around it, is able to produce laughs out of it without ever actually resorting to it. This is something more recent films of this ilk do from the off and rely on as a genuine source of humour throughout; without actually getting anywhere.The film takes place in and around a Scottish school and sees youngster Gergory (Sinclair) whittle away his days milling in and around the premises of this school, in which he will go to class; talk to friends and spend a lot of his time playing football. Things change with the introduction of Dorothy (Hepburn), a girl that stumbles into Gregory's world when it appears she wants to be a member of the football team. Like her eventual role in Gregory's life, she is clinical and the centre of all the attention in her role on the field, as her striking ability raises eyebrows. Forsyth's film is light-hearted and jovial, taking universal subject matter and looking at a pretty important point in a young man's life whilst opting to journey it down a route of soft core and fairly light comedy whilst systematically dealing with pretty serious issues of gender equality and acceptance. In short, the man pulls everything off rather effortlessly.Indeed, the film opens with a shot of Dorothy jogging but it is only her silhouette by way of a long shot we observe her. If the film revolves around Gregory and his tribulations, then the film does a good job in establishing a sense of distance between viewer and object of the protagonist's desire. This, as the use of a silhouette renders the jogging figure close to angelic, not necessarily a prize that needs to be reigned in, but a figure zipping along at a distance in which that sense of the unattainable and the beautiful are both captured at once. The film establishes Gregory's thinking during the film's point of attack as that of one that isn't necessarily attuned to what it is that's around him, indeed, he likes football and girls but doesn't seem to put an awful lot of thought into them; somewhat dismissive of football as "just entertainment, for fun". Despite this, football and football practise will take on a more important role for him with Dorothy's introduction to the team when the two items he's interested in most clash.The film's attitude toward gender will see a girl play football to a rather high level and consequently provide us with a male character in the form of Steve (Greenlees) as an individual whom looks as if he's at the top of his game in the art of cooking and culinary activity. This having of a male dominate the kitchen space, indeed he corrects a female character on whether it ought to be female dominated, as well as a female do the same thing to a football field could be read into as a going against generic gender roles in society. But the film is more preoccupied with Grgory's plight of discovery, and the little things that come with observing and getting to know the girl more and more. Through Dorothy, he attempts to learn the Italian language by way of joining a class and fast-tracking most of it out of eagerness mixed with desperation; this, as he comes to terms with the thoughts and feelings that accompany wanting to ask the girl out on a date and confines in his younger sister for advice.I think there's real heart in Gregory's Girl, a sweet exploration of a character who seems to fumble his way through life but comes to realise certain things. There is a shot nearer the end which echoes the film's opening, that of a girl shot in silhouette from a relatively long standpoint, only Gregory this time accompanies her in what is an item linked to the very first sequence of the film. With Gregory's presence this time apparent, there is that sense that he's earned the right to share the 'space', which was once seemingly elusive, as these two people are framed in the same manner. As far as coming of age tales that fall into the realms of comedy go, Gregory's Girl has more than enough laughs as well as a genuine fondness for its characters of whom it pays close attention to, indeed enough to recommend over a good number of other films of this ilk.

CARTER This is it, it's Gregory's Girl. Don't look up reviews just buy it watch it and enjoy it. It's Napolean Dynamite 25 years before Napolean Dynamite. It's charming, naive, funny with a capital F and is a slice of early 1980's life worth revisiting again and again. If you've never seen it then stop everything and go to ebay or amazon and get buying. You may get hit with a bus and never get to see this film if you leave it any longer, so go now, stop everything and enjoy Gregory's Girl. Notable performances from all but watch out for John Gordon Sinclair who plays the Gregory, David Anderson playing his dad and Rab Buchanan as his friend. Scattered gems of performances from many many others such as Alex Norton and Chic Murray. It's in my "top 5 movies ever made" category for sure.

Jackson Booth-Millard This is one of the only teen films I've seen from Britain, and quite a good one. Gregory (BAFTA nominated John Gordon Sinclair) is the typical Scottish geeky virgin who along with his friends are starting to find out about girls. Soon enough he fancies Dorothy (Dee Hepburn), particularly because she has joined his football team, oh, he's the goalkeeper, and she is a much better player than him and the others. He eventually asks her out, but the females are pretty much in charge, and that includes his young sister Madeline (Allison Forster). It is weird when towards the end Gregory turns his attention to another girl, but it is still a good film. Also starring Jake D'Arcy as Phil Menzies, Clare Grogan as Susan, Robert Buchanan as Andy, Billy Greenlees as Steve, Alan Love as Eric, Caroline Guthrie as Carol, Carol Macartney as Margo, Douglas Sannachan as Billy, Chic Murray as Headmaster, Alex Norton as Alec, John Bett as Alistair and Graham Thompson as Charlie. It won the BAFTA for Best Screenplay, and it was nominated for Best Direction for Bill Forsyth and Best Film. It was number 41 on The 50 Greatest British Films, and it was number 25 on The 50 Greatest Comedy Films. Good!

jonmeta A lot of so called comedies get one or two big laughs in the whole film, often by reaching down for a reference to one or another substance that comes from the human body. Gregory's Girl makes me laugh every few seconds, and the only mention of a bodily excretion I can remember is Andy's "chat up line" in the school cafeteria: "Did you know that when you sneeze, it comes out of your nose at a 100 miles an hour?" Even though I thought I knew all the funny bits after seeing it so many times, each viewing finds me laughing at things I hadn't noticed before, as well as at all the other bits that never seem to grow stale.There's the occasional Pythonesque line, as the football coach's description of the "two basic skills" of a goal scorer: "Ball control, shooting accuracy, and the ability to read the game." But Forsyth the writer creates a constant stream of little gems that are very much his own style of wry humour, taking real life and stretching it just that little bit further, but not so far that it's no longer recognisable. He's got teenage life down perfectly. Girls talk, plan, and seem to know what they want. Guys are clueless. Guys are obsessed by numbers. But girls know all the best ones.It's fun to see how comic setups and situations from Gregory's Girl come back in Forsyth's Local Hero ("everyone's second favourite film", as Mark Kermode put it), deeper and more fully developed. Despite the dated fashions and soundtrack, highly recommended.