What did you think of the 1966 film "Georgy Girl"?
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Jeruba (
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May 28th, 2012
I was of the right age to see Georgy Girl when it came out, and of course I heard the song on the radio a thousand times, but somehow I missed the movie.
As part of my remedial program, I remedied that lack last night.
At least, I watched the first two-thirds. After an hour and six minutes of this 99-minute film, I couldn’t stand it any longer and shut it off.
Then I looked up the ending on Wikipedia, and I’m glad I didn’t stay for it.
I don’t think my distaste is just because this movie was pitched at an audience of 46 years ago and is now hopelessly dated. I don’t think I ever would have liked it. What’s more, I just about can’t remember the last time an hour seemed so long. I started watching the clock at 28 minutes and couldn’t believe how it crept while I was supposedly being delightfully entertained.
Don’t say it’s because it was British. I would wager that I’ve seen more British than American movies, old, new, and very old, and seldom dislike any. (However, I ditched Alfie—also from 1966—with a similar reaction, even though I love Michael Caine.)
Did you agree with me, or did you love it? What’s to love?
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15 Answers
It was boring when I saw it the first time around in 1966.
I tried watching it in my late teens and then again in my late 30’s but neither time could I get interested in it enough to want to finish.
Hey there, Georgy Girl had a great cast.
Based upon this question, I just watched the whole movie for the first time. I liked it until the last five minutes or so.
After letting it sink in for a bit, as well as recalling memories from life in the 60’s, the theme is probably not that far off. Drill down to the character’s personalities, and we are left with those who are represented by a certain percentage of people in today’s cultures.
Didn’t watch it ever but now am curious to google it.
Anything you all want to discuss to give more details or more critique, feel free.
@jca Here is the link to the movie for your viewing pleasure.
@Pied_Pfeffer: I just looked at the Wikipedia article, but I am curious for the people who saw it and didn’t like it, what did they not like about it? Was it boring or were the themes too old fashioned or hard to believe?
Never saw it. But I checked out some clips, and if I had been around back then, I would have dedicated my life to meeting Charlotte Rampling.
@jca, there’s no such thing as “too old-fashioned” for me. I don’t expect Shakespeare or George Eliot or Nathaniel Hawthorne to sound like they’re writing in 2012. I grant movies, novels, and other art forms their own context. Besides, in the year that the film came out, I was not a whole lot younger than the main character, so I have no problem relating to the era (even though the age of the film really shows).
But
• the plot was boring, illogical, and unsatisfying,
• the main character (Lynn Redgrave) was an unappealing doormat,
• the older man (James Mason) was phlegmatic and impossible to believe as Georgy’s would-be lover,
• the younger man (Alan Bates, whom I’ve loved in other films) was erratic, shrill-bordering-on-hysterical, and nearly impossible to believe as Georgy’s lover,
• Georgy’s roommate (Charlotte Rampling) didn’t even seem like a genuine shallow, self-centered playgirl bitch but rather a pretty young woman trying half-heartedly to pretend to be one,
• there was no chemistry between any of the couples, and
• it wasn’t romantic, dramatic, or even funny. I found more of all three qualities in a documentary about parrots living wild in San Francisco.
What do you mean you ditched Alfie, how could you ditch Alfie : (
Gritted my teeth through half of it, kissed off the other half. This was two or three years ago—another remedial exercise.
Oh, great. Now I’ve got “Hey there, Georgy girl…” stuck in my head. And I wasn’t even born then! Thanks, mom.
You may prefer ”this little gem from the eighties.
The similarity ends with the title, this is a far better movie.
I didn’t find the plot boring. It is about a person who desires to live the life that she wants to lead and find true love. She lowers her standards for a variety of reasons: peer pressure, parental pressure, and cultural pressure.
Georgy is treated as a doormat by both James Leamington and her father. Jos Jones, on the other hand, waffled between ‘free love’ and a desire to settle down with someone who held the same innate values.
Jos Jones had a plethora of faults that Georgy was willing to overlook. Maybe she saw them as all talk and no walk. Maybe she was grasping at straws.
I’ve met a few men that resemble the James Leamington character. I don’t find this impossible to believe, especially based upon the time that this movie came out.
Meredith was an enigma. Unless I missed it, it was never explained why she wanted to carry this pregnancy to term after claiming to have abortions in the past.
As old as I am, relationships are still a mystery to me. Each person tethers to one based upon their own needs and desires. To me, that is what this movie is about.
I was about 12 when I saw it and I recall having enjoyed it then. My tastes and sophistication has improved since then. The theme song was catchy.
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