I don't know how I missed this coming-of-age comedy in my youth, but somehow I'd never heard of it 'til I caught it while channel-surfing one day. I was quickly sucked in -- as much by the premise as by the humor. What, a sex-comedy from the girls' point-of-view? Brilliant! And a funny one at that? Even better! My favorite scene was probably the condom-retrieval by Penelope climbing into the boys' bathroom. It was a treat to see the girls getting into mischievous hijinx for once.(S P O I L E R S) But then, predictably, the film takes on a more serious tone once the two leads make good on their bet (well, at least one of 'em does). I guess I should have expected it, but the preachy style was a letdown. In the end, the film maintained the double-standard. Sex is a "big deal" for women -- don't do it unless you're in love, yadda yadda. Funny how I don't recall these sorts of "messages" in the male-oriented sex comedies. But it WAS 1980 so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Perhaps a remake is in order? All in all, I still enjoyed it. Nice performances all around; particularly Kristy McNichol as Angel.

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!

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.

Little Darlings is a classic teen movie but the appeal is that it can actually be enjoyed by all ages. I have seen this one and one half times. I FIRST saw it when I was a kid but I actually think it can be enjoyed as much or more as an adult. Little darlings is both a cute movie and a fun one-although it's a light movie, the characters go through and tackle, issues all young girls deal with in a fun non preachy manner and is pretty accurate in many places too. The reason it is so much fun to watch as an adult is for nostalgia purposes. Set at summercamp, it sort of takes you back to your youth. The movie is dated as anything and when I recently caught it again I almost had to laugh at the dated aspect but the fact remains it can still be enjoyed today.Teens will identify with it, adults will reminded of times gone by.