A tomboy joins the boys' soccer team at a Scottish school, awakening amorous feelings in a gawky boy on the team. It's a pleasant comedy featuring quirky characters and some amusing scenes. The humor is very low key, perhaps too much so, eliciting little more than an occasional chuckle. There is hardly any plot, with the emphasis being on the interaction among the characters. Lacking an interesting story and funny scenes, the film just seems to run out of steam and begins to drag somewhat about half way through. Sinclair is likable as the nerdy hero. This unassuming film marked the first success for writer-director Forsyth.

TCM aired Gregory's Girl this week and I taped and just watched it. I recalled that the Brits on IMDb had recommended it, and that it's in the top 30 of BFI's 100 Best British Films. But I didn't know it would be this great or that I would love it this much! It's so charming, refreshing, original and unpredictable and non-formulaic. And so non-commercial and non-cheesy and non-pandering (unlike some elements of John Hughes). Plus it's a coming-of-age rom-com for ADULTS rather than for teens.Such a wonderful script and characters, and an excellent cast starting with the likes of John Gordon Sinclair (Gregory), Allison Forster (Madeline), and Clare Grogan (Susan). Magic can happen when an extremely low-budget film in good hands combines local non-actors or novices with a superb script, brilliant directing, and a lot of passion. This seems to happen with several British films: Kes, The Full Monty, Billy Eliot, etc. In these sorts of films we also get authentic and undiluted local flavor -- flavor which is homogenized out of most Hollywood fare.Do check it out, especially if you are an American!

Only see this sporadically over the years, it pops up on TV every so often.Another reviewer, Colin Liddel, said this: "growing up in Scotland myself i still don't feel that the movie is regional and anyone who is able to see it please do so." I can only agree, I grew up 300 miles south of Colin in southern England, yet this film evokes a certain time, the late '70s/early '80s for me, I feel at home watching it. The school in it could have been my school, it even looks the same. The children look like we did.One thing I've always wondered about...Gregory (John Gordon Sinclair) is attracted to Dee Hepburn, fine, nothing wrong with that. He in turn has Clare Grogan fancying him, and doesn't realise. Again nothing odd about that, its happened a million times before. Thats all right there in the plot, on the screen.But to most blokes of my generation (esp. the John Peel listening types interested in Clare & her band Altered Images) the idea that Gregory would even NOTICE Dee Hepburn with the delectable Clare Grogan around seems bizarre.Was this deliberate casting? That Gregory somehow fixated on Dee and didn't notice the elfin princess Clare? Or was Dee genuinely seen as fantasy material and Clare as the homely girl next door character?

This is one of the only teen films I've seen from Britain, and quite a good one. Gregory (BAFTA nominated John Gordon Sinclair) is the typical Scottish geeky virgin who along with his friends are starting to find out about girls. Soon enough he fancies Dorothy (Dee Hepburn), particularly because she has joined his football team, oh, he's the goalkeeper, and she is a much better player than him and the others. He eventually asks her out, but the females are pretty much in charge, and that includes his young sister Madeline (Allison Forster). It is weird when towards the end Gregory turns his attention to another girl, but it is still a good film. Also starring Jake D'Arcy as Phil Menzies, Clare Grogan as Susan, Robert Buchanan as Andy, Billy Greenlees as Steve, Alan Love as Eric, Caroline Guthrie as Carol, Carol Macartney as Margo, Douglas Sannachan as Billy, Chic Murray as Headmaster, Alex Norton as Alec, John Bett as Alistair and Graham Thompson as Charlie. It won the BAFTA for Best Screenplay, and it was nominated for Best Direction for Bill Forsyth and Best Film. It was number 41 on The 50 Greatest British Films, and it was number 25 on The 50 Greatest Comedy Films. Good!