''Puberty Blues'' is a 1981 Australian

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. Beresford's notable films he has directed include ''Br ...

, based on the 1979 novel of the same name (essentially a

protofeminist Protofeminism is a concept that anticipates modern feminism in eras when the feminist concept as such was still unknown. This refers particularly to times before the 20th century, although the precise usage is disputed, as 18th-century feminism ...

teen novel) by

Kathy Lette Kathryn Marie Lette (born 11 November 1958) is an Australian-British author whose works have been best-sellers. Early life Lette was born on 11 November 1958 in Sydney's southern suburbs. She appeared in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' of 20 Au ...

and

Gabrielle Carey Gabrielle Carey (born 10 January 1959) is an Australian writer noted for the teen novel, '' Puberty Blues'', which she co-wrote with Kathy Lette. This novel was the first teenage novel published in Australia that was written by teenagers. Carey ...

Plot

The story focuses on two teenage girls from the middle-class

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire comprises an area of and as at the had an estimated population of . Sutherland Shire is colloquially ...

in Sydney. The girls attempt to create a popular social status by ingratiating themselves with the " Greenhill gang" of surfers, a group of boys with a careless attitude toward casual sex, drugs and alcohol, over the course of one Sydney summer.

Cast

* Nell Schofield as Debbie Vickers *

Jad Capelja Jad Capelja (1964 – 10 January 2010) was an Australian actress best known for her role in the 1981 teen film ''Puberty Blues'', based on the novel of the same name. In ''Puberty Blues'' Capelja played Sue, best friend to the lead character D ...

as Sue Knight * Jeffrey Rhoe as Garry * Tony Hughes as Danny * Sandy Paul as Tracy * Leander Brett as Cheryl *

Rowena Wallace Rowena Wallace (born 23 August 1947) is an English-born Australian stage and screen actress, most especially in the genre of television soap opera. She is best known for her Gold Logie-winning role as conniving Patricia "Pat the Rat" Hamilton/M ...

as Mrs. Knight *

Charles 'Bud' Tingwell Charles William Tingwell AM (3 January 1923 – 15 May 2009), known professionally as Bud Tingwell or Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, was an Australian film, television, theatre and radio actor. One of the veterans of Australian film, he acted in his ...

as The Headmaster

Production

Television writer Margaret Kelly was working at a writing workshop at a suburban theatre where she met Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey, who had written a number of unpublished stories about growing up in the surfing beaches of southern Sydney. Kelly showed the stories to producer and writer

Joan Long Joan Long (born Joan Dorothy Boundy; 20 July 1925 – 2 January 1999) was an Australian producer, writer and director best known for '' Caddie'' (1976). She was awarded as a Member of the Order of Australia in 1980 for her services to the film ...

, and optioned the film rights. Carey and Lette went on to write a column in ''

The Sun-Herald ''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Publishing. It is the Sunday counterpart of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. In the 6 months to September 2005, ''The Sun-Herald' ...

'' as The Salami Sisters and the stories were published under the title ''Puberty Blues''.

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...

, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 pp. 145–146 Long first approached

Gillian Armstrong Gillian May Armstrong (born 18 December 1950) is an Australian feature film and documentary director, who specializes in period drama. Her films often feature female perspectives and protagonists. Many of her movies are historical dramas. Ea ...

to direct but she turned it down. Then

read the book and wrote asking to direct:

I bought it he novelwhile I was waiting for a bus in North Sydney. I went to get a chocolate or something and I saw a pile of these things sitting on the counter. I thought I'd buy one and read it on the bus going home. It was remarkable, a very well-expressed book. And the girls were only fifteen. It was a sort of insight into the way of life of those kids, which was a revelation to me... Kathy Lette was a real livewire and so was the other girl, Gabrielle Carey."Interview with Bruce Beresford", ''Signet'', 15 May 1999
Retrieved 17 November 2012

The movie was made with the assistance of the

Australian Film Commission The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was an Australian government agency was founded in 1975 with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a producti ...

, who provided $413,708. The lead roles were cast after an extensive selection process. Nell Schofield, said that "It's a very honest and realistic movie. It touches on this and it touches on that. I really like it. It's subtle and doesn't preach: 'This is the way of life.'" Schofield felt that "Different sections of the audience will perceive different levels. The parents who go and see it will come out and either believe it or it will give them a bit of a jolt. They'll start looking at their kids a different way and try to bridge the generation gap." She added that "The film is feminist in a way. I think it is also a comment on peer group pressure, male chauvinism in teenage groups, school and parent hassles.""Movie Stars Overnight", ''

TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...

''. 23 January 1982, p. 11 Schofield found the surfing scenes easy because she was an avid surfer in real life. "Like Debbie, I wanted to be a surfie chick. But once I was, I wanted out before it got too heavy. I hated the alcohol and the drug scene. I saw so many kids fall down on the ground after taking drugs." Of making the film Schofield said "We didn't expect any glitter, and we didn't get any. It was hard work."

Changes from book to film

For

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

reasons, in the film their age was increased to 16. Much of the content of the novel appears in the film, with several passages of text recounted by the film's protagonist, Debbie, in a voice-over narration. The film closely follows the story and character trajectory of the novel. Some of the novel's characters are composites in the film. The tone of the novel is generally darker than that of the film, and in the novel Debbie and Sue are shown to be much more willing participants in activities than they are in the film. Some of the darker moments of the book have been removed or softened for the film. The film adds a comedy beach brawl between the surfers and the lifeguards not present in the novel. Lette complained that "the film sanitised the plot by omitting central references to

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

and

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

. The movie depicts a culture in which

gang rape Gang rape, also called serial gang rape, group rape, or multiple perpetrator rape in scholarly literature,Ullman, S. E. (2013). 11 Multiple perpetrator rape victimization. Handbook on the Study of Multiple Perpetrator Rape: A Multidisciplinary Re ...

is incidental, mindless violence is amusing and hard drug use is fatal, but it was unable to address the consequences of the brutal sexual economy in which the girls must exist." Much of the obscure surfer slang of the novel was omitted from the film. The novel features some discussion about television series ''

Number 96 96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when turned upside down. In mathematics 96 is: * an octagonal number. * a refactorable number. * an untouchable number. * a semiperfe ...

''. One passage of the novel that mentions the title is recounted by the film's protagonist in a voice-over narration, but because the series had ended by the time of the 1981 film the series title is replaced by the generic term "television".

Reception

Soundtrack

The theme song "

Puberty Blues ''Puberty Blues'' is a 1981 Australian coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford, based on the 1979 novel of the same name (essentially a protofeminist teen novel) by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey. Plot The story focuses ...

" was written by

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowd ...

. In the film it was sung by

Sharon O'Neill Sharon Lea O'Neill (born 23 November 1952) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and pianist, who had an Australasian hit single in 1983 with " Maxine" which reached No. 16 on both the Australian Kent Music Report and Recording Industry Association ...

. It was released by Jenny Morris as a single on

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

in December 1981.

Box office

''Puberty Blues'' grossed $3,918,000 at the box office in Australia.

Home media

''Puberty Blues'' was first released on

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

in the early 1980s. It made its debut on DVD with a new print by Umbrella Entertainment in 2003. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as the trailer, interviews with Nell Schofield and Bruce Beresford, trivia and biographies. In 2013, Umbrella Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray. Umbrella Entertainment has also released a three-disc DVD set with '' Monkey Grip'' and ''

Dimboola Dimboola is a town in the Shire of Hindmarsh in the Wimmera region of western Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 334 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. History Situated on the Wimmera River, Dimboola was previously known as 'Nine Creek ...

''.

References

External links

*
''Puberty Blues''
at Ozmovies
''Puberty Blues'' at the National Film and Sound Archive
* *
''Puberty Blues''
at Bundeena Info {{Bruce Beresford 1981 films 1981 comedy-drama films 1980s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 1980s sports comedy-drama films 1980s teen comedy-drama films Australian coming-of-age comedy-drama films Australian sports comedy-drama films Australian teen comedy-drama films Films about puberty Films based on Australian novels Films directed by Bruce Beresford Films set in Sydney Films set on beaches Films shot in Sydney Australian surfing films Teen sports films 1980s English-language films