Puberty Blues (1981)
- Starring:
- Nell Schofield, Jad Capelja, (more)
- Director(s):
- Bruce Beresford
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
Synopsis of Puberty Blues
Director Bruce Beresford continued his tradition of putting socially disenfranchised characters front and center with this wryly observant comedy drama about middle class Australian teens that served as a stark contrast to the popular American teen films of its day. Friends from the Sydney suburb of Cronulla, Debbie (Nell Schofield) and Sue (Jad Capelja) are a pair of average schoolgirls who smoke, drink, have sex, and cheat on exams. The girls are also striving to become "surfie chicks," the groupies that hang around the surfer boy gangs of southern Sydney, pairing off with the objects of their affection. Adhering to odd rules that prevent them from eating or going to the bathroom in the surfers' presence, the girls get into trouble for their wild behavior, with Debbie eventually fearing that she's pregnant, leading to a fatal overdose of heroin for her boyfriend Garry (Geoff Rhoe). Ultimately, Debbie and Sue become disillusioned with the sexism and narrow-mindedness of their crowd. Puberty Blues (1981) was based on the book of the same name by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey, a pair of real-life Sydney teens who wrote newspaper articles under the pseudonym "The Salami Sisters." ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
Complete Cast of Puberty Blues
- Nell Schofield - Debbie
- Geoff Rhoe - Garry
- Jay Hackett - Bruce
- Tina Robinson - Freda
- Alan Cassell - Mr. Vickers
- Charles "Bud" Tingwell - Headmaster
- Andrew Martin - Berkhoff
- Pamela Gibbons - Jazz ballet teacher
- Jad Capelja - Sue
- Sandy Paul - Tracy
- Ned Lander - Strach
- Kirrily Nolan - Mrs. Vickers
- Rowena Wallace - Mrs. Knight
- Tony Hughes - Danny
- Brian Anderson - Drive-in Attendent
- Brian Harrison - Mr. Little
- Director(s):
- Bruce Beresford
- Writer(s):
- Margaret Kelly
- Producer(s):
- Margaret Kelly, Joan Long
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Adult Situations, Nudity, Adult Language, Not For Children)
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