Blackmoor Vituperative

I am watching a movie on demand on cable, called Little Darlings. This is a movie from 1980 about 15-year-old girls at summer camp in a competition to lose their virginity.

This movie reminds me of Meatballs, which came out the previous year. Funny thing is, I think this film has aged much better than Meatballs. Yet Little Darlings has been all but forgotten.

Such a strange mix of memories, watching this. My parents went to drive-in movies during the 1970s, and I remember seeing trailers for this and Foxes, but until now, I’d never seen either of them. Little Darlings stars Tatum O’Neal, Kristy McNichol, Matt Dillon, and Armand Assante. I thought Kristy McNichol was super cute, at the time, although I don’t think I was quite “aware” of girls yet (although I thought I was). I wonder what happened to to her and Tatum O’Neal. I feel for them both in this film. When Kristy McNichol’s eyes tear up during the scene with Matt Dillon in the … some kind of shack, I guess… my heart really breaks for her.

And then I wonder if I’m a perv for even watching this. And then I wonder what sort of person would make a movie about 15 year old girls in a competition to lose their virginity. It’s kind of messed up, isn’t it?

But mainly, it reminds me of what it was like to be a something-less-than-15-year-old boy, entranced by girls who seemed like they’d be forever beyond my reach.