The Beautiful Game on Celluloid, Part Eight (Gregory's Girl)

Spoiler Alert: I assume most people have already seen these films; as a result I discuss the plot as much as I can. I will not try to go into every detail but generalize as much as possible.

Film:   Gregory’s Girl  (1981)

Over the years I have heard British Football (Soccer) fans discuss in fondness their memories of the film ‘Gregory’s Girl’. As a non-British Football fan, I had never been exposed to it and was completely unaware of it.

The constant references to this film had me intrigued but for the longest time it was unavailable in the United States. Luckily it became available on Netflix (rental) this year and I got the chance to check it out for myself.

The film released on April 23^rd, 1981 was made by Scottish Director Bill Forsyth, who would later go on and direct Burt Lancaster (Local Hero, 1983) and Robin Williams (Being Human, 1994).

The film’s protagonist is Gregory (played by John Gordon Sinclair). He is a Scottish teenager in Cumbernauld.  The film begins with Gregory and his mates in the woods acting as peeping toms and watching a nurse in a state of undress in a building across at night.  In the scene we are introduced to Gregory and his close friends and we immediately are aware that this will be another coming of age comedy about boys trying to fall in love. His circle of friends include Steven (played by William Greenlees), Billy (played by Douglas Sannachan, a recent graduate and now a window cleaner), Andy (played by Robert Buchanan) and Charlie (played by Graham Thompson) (Andy and Charlie will act as comic relief throughout with their fruitless attempts to meet girls).

The action shifts to the local High School, where we see Gregory playing Football against another school. We are also introduced to the Football Coach, Mr. Menzies, who is clearly dismayed at the performance of his team, most particularly of Gregory.

The Coach (played by Jake D’Arcy) is not highly regarded by his peers nor the students and will also act as a comical relief character with his demeanor.

Coach Menzies confronts Gregory for his lack of effort as a striker. For his part, Gregory is completely unperturbed and nonchalant. 

He responds to all the criticisms with sarcasm and humor and clearly sees no reason to improve himself as Football is ‘only a game’, despite threats from the Coach that ‘changes’ are to be made.

The team has been on a losing streak and the Coach has decided to conduct trials for the striker position, and in doing so, also changes Gregory’s position to goalkeeper.

On the day of the trial, we are introduced to Dorothy (played by Dee Hepburn), a new female student who much to everyone’s surprise is trying out for the striker position for the boys’ team.

During the trial all the male trialists are abysmal, while Dorothy stands out and is clearly the best player.  From a distance Gregory notices her and is instantly smitten by her.

After initially rejecting Dorothy’s early attempts to try-out, Coach Menzies has been convinced by her ability and talent. Nevertheless, he informs her that approval by his superiors is required to have a girl in the boys’ team (In a later scene we see the Principal (played by Chic Murray) approving the idea).

Gregory expresses his Love for Dorothy to his close pal Steve, who appears to be the most mature of his friends. Steven dismisses Gregory’s declaration as just ‘a phase’.

During the first game with Dorothy as striker (and Gregory in goal), Andy (one of Gregory’s friends) is critical of the idea of girls playing Football, but the love-struck Gregory is supportive of the idea, saying that it’s ‘modern.’

Naturally the game is won after a goal by Dorothy and she is now a school celebrity and is later interviewed by the school newspaper as a novelty for being a girl on the boys’ team and inspiring others.

Gregory tries to flirt with Dorothy and after chatting up with her leans that she has spent time in Italy and speaks the language to a degree.

In an attempt to get closer to Dorothy, Gregory asks one of his teachers to take up Italian, as it turns out the only Italian word that he knows is ‘Bella’ (that he will utter in a few scenes).

At various intervals in the film, we are also introduced to the female characters in the school: Carol (played by Caroline Guthrie), Margo (played by Carol Macartney) and Susan (played by Clare Grogan).

We are also introduced to Madeleine (played by Allison Forster), Gregory’s younger pre-teen sister. We see Gregory spending time with her, and she acts as a confident of sorts. She also helps him out pick clothes to make a better impression on Dorothy.

Parents are all but absent in this film as this is not their world. There is one scene of Gregory’s father, who is a driving instructor. That is an inexplicable scene as there is never a mention of him later, nor of any of the other parents. Perhaps further scenes with the father ended up on the cutting room floor. The only figures of authority are the Coach and some of the teachers, but their input is either light or comical.

One day Dorothy asks Gregory to practice with her one on one, so she can improve her shooting. After the practice Gregory gets the courage to ask her on a date. Much to his surprise she quickly accepts. He is so surprised that he repeatedly asks to make sure and she does.

He borrows his friend Steven’s white fancy jacket for the date. He waits for her at the rendez-vous location, but she is a no-show. Later, one of the female classmates (Carol) arrives and tells Gregory that Dorothy will not come and convinces him to take her to a chip shop.

Once there, she sets him up with another female friend Margo, who takes him to a park where she hands him off to Susan.

At the park Gregory bonds with Susan and realizes that he is a better match for her. It is also made clear that the whole plan was arranged with her and her friends including Dorothy to set them up together.

At the end of the date, Gregory is now in love with Susan and kisses her, with his younger sister Madeline spying from her room above.

He comes in and confides to his sister of his new-found love. She then asks him, “who’s gonna be Gregory’s girl now?” and he immediately responds, “you are”.

The film ends with a shot of Dorothy jogging at night (in fact at various stages in the film (including the beginning), we see Dorothy jogging).

Despite its opening sequence with the nurse, ‘Gregory’s Girl is clearly not a ‘sex comedy’ emblematic of European Cinema of the 70s and early 80s.

While being adopted as a memorable film by British Football fans, ‘Gregory’s Girl’ is not exclusively a Football film. In fact, the game is just a backdrop, it is a coming of age film that in present time would be described as a rom-com. It is a somewhat predictable film as most films of its genre are and is light and fun.

The love and romance are very innocent and Gregory’s interaction with his kid sister is touching.

There is not a villain or a mean character to be seen and everyone appears civil and friendly to one another, there is a feel-good vibe throughout and no confrontation of any kind.

It’s a film that I can see would stand the test of time, especially for the Generation that were young at the time the film was released as it harks back the happier memories of youth and perhaps first love.

All in all, it is worth a watch (or a re-watch) for Football (Soccer) fans or otherwise.

Note:

1-Bill Forsyth directed a sequel in 1999 called ‘Gregory’s Two Girls’. That film does not appear to have been as successful nor memorable and is clearly not Football (Soccer) related (In fact I only stumbled upon as I was reading up on the Original).

2-John Gordon Sinclair performed on Scotland squad’s 1982 World Cup Song, “We Have  a Dream”