Kleine Biester

This film impressed me so much back then that I not only made all my friends and family see it, but I drove all the way to Georgia to see where it was filmed.

It's not just about sex - it's about the two ways you can look at sex when approaching puberty. The wrong way - the Ferris Whitney way - is to romanticize it like Romeo and Juliette. The other wrong way -- Angel's way and the way I saw it at the time -- is to see it as something scary, invasive, animalistic, and biological which is approaching to seize you, engulf you, and reprogram you into a mindless reproduction-machine.

Of the eight characters, only Angel discovers the truth: "God, it was so... PERSONAL, like you could see right through me". Sex turns out not to be storybook romance OR a tyrannical usurping of your body by the Forces of Evolution, but something very, very, very, very real, immediate... and YOU.

In the boathouse, Angel discovers that sex is not something scary she is forced to be, but something wonderful she was always meant to be.

In the words of the novel, "All the fear and uncertainty melted away as they kissed. Soon she didn't know who was touching whom, only that it was wonderful, and right, and fine. And the moon stared impenetrably through the window".

Notice how "before", she's withdrawn, sarcastic, and hostile; and "after", she's relaxed and kind of at one with the world, like she's a part of it, instead of a stranger in it.

In the very last scene, she hugs her mom -- something she NEVER would have done before -- saying "What's this crap about sex being nothing? You've been hanging around creeps!" This resonated very, very strongly with me at that age; I wanted that to happen to ME. And I don't mean getting laid.

The movie was supposedly filmed in Madison, Georgia,at Hard Labor Creek state park. I was wondering if any evidence that a movie had been made would even still exist after two years. The first thing I came upon was a big sign over the road: "Camp Little Wolf". My God! All the sets and props were intact... and abandoned.

Alone, I explored. I walked on the dock and sat on the swing. When night came, I slept in Cabin A, in the bed that Angel did. The next day, I jumped into the lake, hoping that this baptism would somehow cause the same ...transformation which happened to her: the transformation from child to adult.

And finally, before leaving, I sat for hours in the boathouse, on the spot where "it" happened, just thinking.

Did I like the film, "Little Darlings"? Yeah.

Yeah, I did.

I grew up with this movie, surprising considering that I was born in 1979 and literally cannot remember a time when I did not know and enjoy this movie. I suppose my parents figured that being a small toddler and child I wouldn't get the sexual aspects of the movie. They were right. Although I nearly died of embarrassment years later when I asked my father quite innocently what were those "balloon things" that the girls stole from the restroom.

This movie is campy (no pun intended) this movie is 80's-style cheesy, but none of these factors change the fact that this is a GOOD movie. It details the exploits of a group of teenage girls at summer camp more accurately than any other summer camp movie I've seen. The acting isn't sterling at all times, but it doesn't change the fact that you feel as if you really are watching a bunch of girls goofing off and having fun at summer camp. The food fight scene is wonderfully real with the actors all genuinely laughing and having a great time, the condom-thieving scene is legendary and never loses its hilarity. All the fun and silliness is balanced with the seriousness of some of the situations they get themselves into, and there is a wonderful sense of shared growth between the characters. As stated by many other reviewers, Kristy McNichol shines in her role as Angel, and pulls off a startlingly emotional performance opposite a young Matt Dillon.

I recommend this movie to every preteen girl, even though it is a tad outdated, I think the heart of the movie will still ring true to all girls out there.

Angel (Kristy McNichol) and Ferris (Tatum O'Neal) compete at summer camp to see who can lose their virginity first. O'Neal goes after hunky Armand Assante and McNichol goes after punk Matt Dillon. This was a huge hit with teenagers back in 1980 (despite the R rating). There's no nudity and sex is kept off-screen, but there is a huge amount of sex talk, swearing, the kids smoking and drinking beer and every possible sex joke you can think of. Despite all this, the film is actually not that sleazy and kind of fun. Some of the jokes are very funny and the subject of teen sex is dealt with intelligently and seriously. It's also amusing to see Dillon, O'Neal, McNicol and Assante so young...and look for a VERY young Cynthia Nixon as one of the kids! All the acting is pretty good--McNicol is VERY good--a very natural, believable performance. Good 80s soundtrack too.

Worth catching.

Just recently watched it again,still holds up to this day.

It's interesting seeing many well known actors,that were cast years back.

The overall movie premise,casting,acting & cinematography was decently done.

Worth checking out!

Very entertaining movie but what really makes it worthwhile is the wonderful performance by Kristy McNicol. That alone makes it worth watching - she carries the movie all the way through. Love the scene where she and Tatum have their heart-to-heart confession of what really happened - Kristy shows true emotion. Matt Dillon sure was a cute thing back then! Also, watch for a very young Cynthia Nixon from Sex in the City playing the hippie kid. And Armand Asante - what can I say! He was sure in his prime in the looks department! Tatum is only just okay in this film but then maybe that's how her character was supposed to be. A fun watch!