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Gregory's Girl

© Jennifer A. Wickes

Gregory's Girl
by Jennifer A. Wickes
copyright 2003

Gregory (Gordon John Sinclair) is an awkward teenager living in Scotland. He likes to play the drums, spend time with his friends and play football (otherwise known as soccer in the United States). He lives with his parents and younger sister in a modest house.

His football couch approaches him and tells him that they need new blood in the team, and hints of the idea of kicking him off the team. Gregory, who is in the midst of puberty, is now gangly and can't play the sport as well as before, is nervous about his potential ousting of the team. At the football trials, in walks in their latest team member, Dorothy (Dee Hepburn). What starts with fear and frustration about possibly being bumped from the football team, turns into love at first sight.

This movie depicts secondary school life where teenagers are awkward, and unsure of themselves in most aspects of their lives. We see glimpses of Gregory's fellow schoolmates as they too try to catch girls' attentions, by trying to impress them with their vast intelligence, "it's a well-known fact that when you sneeze, it comes out of your nose at 100 miles an hour...". The movie is humorous and light-hearted as it shows us how Gregory tries to catch the girl of his dreams, Dorothy, the one with "the hair, the teeth and the smell".

There is another humorous interaction between Gregory and his father, who is a driving instructor. Gregory is crossing the street, without looking both ways, when his father is trying to teach a man how to drive. In the process, his father has to tell the driver to swerve to the left and right and do an emergency stop to avoid hitting Gregory, who has his hand on the hood of the car running backwards trying to avoid getting hit! Gregory's father asks Gregory if he remembers his mother and tells him how she had been asking about him. Playfully, he asks Gregory if they can make a date for breakfast in the kitchen on Friday at 8! This scene brought back memories as a teenager where I spent most of my time in my room daydreaming about life, and never seeing my parents too. But they way Gregory's father handles Gregory was wonderful.

Another hilarious moment, is when Gregory is in the changing room getting dressed from his football practice, when Dorothy comes into the changing room. Gregory has no shirt on, so he uses his index fingers to cover his nipples!