Little Darlings

Plot

A group of teenage girls from Atlanta go to summer camp, and, unbeknownst to the adults, two of them make a bet as to which one will lose her virginity first, with all the girls in camp betting money on the contest. They divide into two "teams", each rooting for and egging on either Ferris (Tatum O'Neal) or Angel (Kristy McNichol). The two girls then choose "targets", or guys they want to be the ones they lose their virginity with. At the same time, the girls engage in typical teenage behavior, such as food fights and other activities.

The girls involved in the contest are opposites and rivals: cynical, suspicious and streetwise poor girl Angel Bright, and naive, prissy and romantic rich girl Ferris Whitney. Both girls discover that "it" is not what they thought it was.

Ferris thinks of love as romance and wine and flowers. She imagines herself swept off her feet by Gary, the camp counselor. When she lies about "making love" with him, the biological side manifests itself in others' reactions to what she said she did. She discovers that, at least in the context of a camp counselor having sex with a fifteen-year-old, sex can be hurtful and its consequences ugly. Her attitude is now more grounded in reality; she has become more like street-wise Angel.

Angel approaches the same issue from the other side. She views winning the contest as a mechanical, purely biological function, "no big deal" as her mother has told her. But when she tries to do "it" with Randy (Matt Dillon) in the boathouse, she becomes confused by feelings she did not know she had. She behaves very defensively, as if Randy is trying to force her to have sex. Randy, who could take it or leave it, is put off by her recalcitrance and leaves. She then must admit to herself that sex is not a mechanical function she can cynically turn on and off, but is something she deeply wants to do.

Angel reconnects with Randy later with a much improved attitude, one closer to Ferris'. This time she pays attention not to clothing removal procedures and condoms, but to her feelings for Randy and proceeds to lose her virginity with him.

In the end, Ferris discovers that love involves sex, which is not always romantic, and Angel discovers that sex involves love, which deeply touches her and transforms her soul. They both grow up that summer.

Cast

Theme music

The song "Shake It" by Ian Matthews is on the soundtrack at the beginning of the movie.

Production

Little Darlings was filmed in Hard Labor Creek State Park, 50 miles east of Atlanta during the summer of 1979. The signs and props built for the film remain for visitors to see. The gas station men's room (condom) scene was filmed in downtown Rutledge, the town nearest the park. The meeting place for the busses at the beginning and ending were filmed in a parking lot near the offices of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and you can see the old Omni Coliseum in the background including in the last scene of the movie. When Ferris is driven into town, they pass the Swan House, indicating that her family lives in Buckhead, a wealthy part of town to the north of the city.

TV version

An alternate version of Little Darlings was made for TV which had all the sex-related scenes and dialogue removed, giving the impression that, instead of trying to lose their virginity, Angel and Ferris were merely trying to make a guy fall in love with them. The deleted scenes were replaced with leftover footage not seen in the film version, including a scene in which Angel rescues Ferris from drowning in the lake. Some additional music was also used in this version. The director has stated that he had no participation in this version and disassociates himself with it.

Awards and honors