Sydney’s Cronulla - more specifically Greenhill Beach where “the prettiest girls in school and the best surfies on the beach” spend their days getting sunburnt - is the setting for this 1981 feature. This ‘coming of age’ tale (yes it’s one of those) is based on the novel of the same title by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette and directed by Bruce Beresford of Barry McKenzie fame and most recently Mao’s Last Dancer. It follows roughly a year in the life of Debbie (Nell Schofield) and Sue (Jad Capelja) as they try and make it into the world of surfer boys, girls smoking in the toilets at lunchtime, drugs, alcohol, chiko rolls and awkward trysts in the back of a van as your friends watch the drive-in in the front seat. All whilst evading the forever present “moles”, parents coming home too early and the possibility of getting “dropped”. But as Deb states; at least she’s doing something on Saturday nights.

Setting itself apart from other youth-filled films is the completely natural and carefree acting from the young cast. As a group they seem to capture what the youth in this seaside town are up against. Parental pressure, rain on good surfing days, teen pregnancy and the never-ending boredom if they don’t get out and do something, anything. The late, great Bud Tingwell plays the headmaster forever trying to thwart the plans of youth whilst Alan Cassell (Neighbours, Sea Change, Blue Healers…) is the clueless farther.

Being told from the perspective of Debbie and Sue - Debbie’s narration appears sporadically throughout the feature, often extracted straight from the novel- the film does present the side of the young girls. This adds to the trouble of whether to “root” the boy they’ve been set up with or not and the way the males in the group perceive them.

And yet the film also manages to level the bad with the good. Girls can go from being cool to moles as soon as the boys dump them for someone who will put out more. There are dire consequences for Gary’s drug use, with the effect it has on the youths humbling on the audience; the bon-fire on the beach is a striking shot.

You may have already guessed, but the most memorable aspect of this film is the slang used. From one liners of “far-out”, “fish-faced mole”, “gutless wonder” and “dead-set,” Puberty Blues definitely has the element of nostalgia on its side. Together with the budgie smugglers, rocking vans at drive-ins, panning shots of Cronulla beach and a bit of teenage women’s liberation thrown in, Puberty Blues is definitely in need of a strong comeback - something I am very much looking forward to.

Review by Eleanor Colla

Director: Bruce Beresford
Screenwriter: Margaret Kelly, based on the novel by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey
Cast: Nell Schofield, Jad Capelja, Geoff Rhose, Tony Hughes, Sandy Paul, Leander Brett, Jay Hackett, Ned Lander, Joanne Olsen, Julie Medana, Charles Tingwell