Over in the Times of London, Kevin Maher catches up with the cast of Bill Forsyth's charming little adolescent romantic comedy Gregory's Girl, 27 years later on. For those who haven't seen the film, much of its delight came from its extremely appealing — and, at the time, almost completely unknown — cast of young actors. Like very few films of the time, it captures the sweetness, agony, and even ugliness of young love in a way that anticipates (and improves upon) John Hughes' films of a few years later.
The feature is the usual blend of melancholy and nostalgia that comes with such where-are-they-now features, with the added tint of speculation borne of the fact that none of the cast went on to any great fame as screen actors. It's also a glimpse into the lives of the "jobbing actor", those who plug away with small roles here and there over a lifetime to keep in the game, and those who simply decide it isn't worth it and become pharmaceutical sales reps in East Kilbride. (In a strange bit of coincidence, Clare Grogan, who played Susan — the "Gregory's Girl" of the title — became the lead singer of Altered Images, whose minor hit "Happy Birthday" played in a key scene of John Hughes' thematically similar Sixteen Candles.)
But the most amazing part of the article is the news that a DVD of Gregory's Girl is being given away free with the Sunday Times. What do we have to do to get in on that action? We'd love to get free American indie films with our Sunday New York Times...