Puberty Blues

1981

Action / Comedy / Drama

11
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 66% · 4 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 66% · 500 ratings
IMDb Rating 5.9/10 10 1789 1.8K

teenage sexuality teenager

Plot summary

Two teenage surf chicks from the southern suburbs of Sydney ingratiate themselves with a new group of boys.

Director

Bruce Beresford Photo
Bruce Beresford

Top cast

Charles 'Bud' Tingwell Photo
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as The Headmaster
Rowena Wallace Photo
Rowena Wallace as Mrs. Knight
Eric Hahn Photo
Eric Hahn as Kneeboarder
Brian Anderson Photo
Brian Anderson as Drive-In Attendant
720p.BluRay
764.04 MB
1280*528
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
25 fps
1 hr 23 min
Seeds 5

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Rrrobert 7 / 10

Evocative and entertaining

Well-paced, evocative and entertaining story of two high school girls who successfully ingratiate themselves into the cool surfer gang. There they are introduced to a world of cheating on exams, smoking, lying to parents, sexism, drinking, perfunctory sex, and drugs.Though ostensibly the story of best friends Debbie (Nell Schofield) and Sue (Jad Capelja), this is Debbie's story. Debbie is the more dominant of the two actively rejecting the nerds and pushing for inclusion in the cool gang. Sue seems pretty happy with the status quo, but will tag along with Debbie. This keeps the story simpler as Debbie has two troubled relationships, becomes disillusioned, and yearns for a more fulfilling existence. Sue quickly takes up with the most sympathetic of the boys, Danny (Tony Hughes), for a much quieter life.Apart from Debbie you don't get much insight into the characters though there is some exploration of the troubled Garry (Jeffrey Rhoe). The adult characters seem like caricatures, but this is Debbie's story and that's probably how they seemed to her.The unmannered performances from the young cast are generally good, adding to the sense of realism, while Schofield is excellent. The music is good and well-used. A few overt comedy scenes seem forced and the film much more effective when it sticks to drama.
Reviewed by kingslisa 9 / 10

Too true to life as it was in suburban coastal oz

As a 14 year old I saw a snippet of Puberty Blues and thought it was boring. Now more than 30 years later, I realise my 14 year old self was correct but for different reasons. It was "boring" because it was like watching a mirror image of my life, a life I was dissatisfied with, but ultimately trapped. Watching the movie in its entirety now it makes me realise that my life was normal, as that was just the way things were. It is depressing, but validating. I wonder how it got the funding to be made and what was the demographic that went to see it at the cinema? I for one didn't want to see my life on screen - you went to the cinema to escape, not relive what you already experienced. I give it an A for realism, for better or worse.
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