Ginger in the Morning

GINGER IN THE MORNING is a 1974 film starring a young Sissy Spacek in just her third theatrical film. Although released in '74 it was filmed in '72 so I think She filmed this before Badlands (1973).

Sissy plays the title character, Ginger. She is a hitchhiker who gets picked up by a middle-aged man named Joe. It's New Years Eve and Joe feels lonely. The two end up at Joe's apartment.

The movie starts off as a cute romantic comedy with a plot you've no doubt seen done hundreds of times before. Ginger is the "manic pixie dream girl" and Joe is the uptight square who falls in love with her.

The movie hits a snag however with the arrival of Joe's friend Charlie. Joe wants Charlie to leave so Ginger and him can, well, enjoy each other's company. Charlie becomes smitten with Ginger and doesn't want to leave. Joe then gets the idea of inviting Charlie's ex-wife Sugar over. This is when the movie takes an ugly turn. It goes from being a cute romantic comedy to a movie about bitter middle-aged people talking about marriage and divorce. Charlie then decides to get back with Sugar and they leave. Ginger now wants to leave too and Joe does that cliche' mad cap rush to find her and declare his love for her before it is too late.

With her shoulder length red/brown hair and young, freckled face Sissy Spacek physically reminds me so much of her own future daughter. Sissy even has the same mischevious grin. That being said, when Sissy sings her own song in this movie, one thing is obvious: She is no Schuyler.

I also thought that Sissy's voice sounded too childish and immature in this movie. She was 22 in this movie and She sounds like She is like she's a teenager.

I would only recommend this movie to people who are fans of Sissy Spacek or, if you're like me, a Schuyler Fisk fan who gets the kick out of seeing how much She takes after her own Mom.

While many scenes in this movie seem sexist today, the dialogue is actually how most people talked (and thought) in the early 1970s, and this includes the women characters. It was a time of dramatic social change and people, young and old, said some pretty dumb things, every day. When I saw this movie available on streaming video, I thought it would be one of those trashy low budget films that was so bad it would be funny, but I actually found it intelligent and entertaining. The relationship of the two male friends is instantly recognizable to people who have served in the military (as I did), and the romantic relationship between one of the men, and the Sissy Spacek character who is half his age, exactly captures the tension between the two clashing cultures - the "counter culture" of the 60s and 70s vs the more conservative culture of people who grew up in the 40s and 50s. Of course he says sexist things, and of course she speaks in slogans and says "far out!" all the time. Yeah, people actually talked like that back then. Worth watching if you want to know what that era was like on an interpersonal level. Also, you have GOT to see Slim Pickens play a county sheriff. A minor role but he steals every scene he is in. I love that guy.

I was definitely curious to check out Ginger in the Morning when I randomly stumbled upon it. The cast alone makes it worth a look. Unfortunately, the dated and uninspired dialogue, weak script, and unimaginative direction all conspire to deliver this very disappointing little film. It is kind of interesting as a snapshot of the first half of the 70's. Sissy Spacek does write and perform many of the songs throughout the film, which is another plus. The story is just one cliche after another and it's just never able to gather momentum. Sorry to everyone who worked on Ginger in the Morning but I just cannot recommend it, unless maybe for those Sissy Spacek fans out there, you might enjoy it.

This early work starring Sissy Spacek is not a bad period piece. Spacek was 25 when she starred in this movie as a hitchhiker who falls for a middle aged businessman who picks her up. Even at this early age, you can tell that Spacek knows her craft and gives a deeper performance than her older costars. While there are some campy moments and forced dialog, I found that the low-budget film's unvarnished feel brought back a real sense of life in the early 1970s. There is a scene where the two male costars get drunk, and it really is a realistic portrayal of having fun while you are drunk! There are some funny moments, and it's far from a bomb. I purchased the DVD for $1 at my local dollar store, and felt it was worth at least that!

This is yet another obscure movie that I stumbled into on Prime Video. It's one of Sissy Spacek's earliest roles (I'm guessing she made this before her breakthrough role in Badlands) playing an aspiring poet and singer who hitchhikes through the southwest. She's picked up by a divorced businessman and after they spend the night at his place, his old army pal unexpectedly shows up. There's more but I'll just say that while the tone is uneven (while I recognized what scenes and lines were supposed to get laughs, I didn't find myself laughing), it's still pretty interesting as a time capsule of the early '70s and Ms. Spacek does write and sing some pretty good songs for the soundtrack. So on that note, give Ginger in the Morning a look.