This is part of my ongoing attempt to watch movies from a time period to get a feel (as much as possible) for the way things really were, not the version we're told to believe by current culture.
Gidget is especially interesting because (as you may or may not know) there is a "real life" story behind it that's part of the whole "creation of youth culture of the 60s beginning in late 50s Los Angeles" myth, a story told in the book by Frederick Kohner Honestly, watch the movie all the way through. Yes, in some sense it's what you expect, but not in all senses - look for stuff in the background, the attitudes behind the story... The point is not the superficial, it's why the characters do what they do, and what they find admirable or not.
The more I view this stuff, the more contempt I have for the sixties and their whole destructive attitude to the fifties. IMHO the true hatred for Gidget and the fifties is not because of sex (to mock that aspect of the movie is to truly show how childish you are), it's because of responsibility.
Ultimately this is a movie about being responsible, about growing up and accepting that that has consequences that cannot be avoided forever. The 60s refused to admit that, insisted that nothing ever had consequences if you stuck your head in the sand long enough, that you could live the life of a teenager, with the morals and attitudes of a teenager, forever; and we've been living with that Peter Pan syndrome ever since.
Gidget ("fun is fun, but the real world is ultimately out there") makes an interesting contrast with Grease just 12 years later ("fun is fun, and we can keep it going forever") as alternate views on the fifties and on growing up...
Anyway, watch it and see if you agree with my analysis.
Gidget is especially interesting because (as you may or may not know) there is a "real life" story behind it that's part of the whole "creation of youth culture of the 60s beginning in late 50s Los Angeles" myth, a story told in the book by Frederick Kohner Honestly, watch the movie all the way through. Yes, in some sense it's what you expect, but not in all senses - look for stuff in the background, the attitudes behind the story... The point is not the superficial, it's why the characters do what they do, and what they find admirable or not.
The more I view this stuff, the more contempt I have for the sixties and their whole destructive attitude to the fifties. IMHO the true hatred for Gidget and the fifties is not because of sex (to mock that aspect of the movie is to truly show how childish you are), it's because of responsibility.
Ultimately this is a movie about being responsible, about growing up and accepting that that has consequences that cannot be avoided forever. The 60s refused to admit that, insisted that nothing ever had consequences if you stuck your head in the sand long enough, that you could live the life of a teenager, with the morals and attitudes of a teenager, forever; and we've been living with that Peter Pan syndrome ever since.
Gidget ("fun is fun, but the real world is ultimately out there") makes an interesting contrast with Grease just 12 years later ("fun is fun, and we can keep it going forever") as alternate views on the fifties and on growing up...
Anyway, watch it and see if you agree with my analysis.