Puberty Blues is a 1981 Australian film directed by Bruce Beresford. The film is based on the 1979 novel Puberty Blues, by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette, which is a proto-feminist teen novel about two 13-year-old girls from the Sutherland Shire in Sydney, Australia. The girls attempt to create a popular social status by integrating themselves with the "Greenhill gang" of surfers.

Changes from book to film[link]

For censorship reasons, in the film their age was increased to 16. Much of the content of the novel appears in the film, with several passages of text recounted by the film's protagonist Debbie (Nell Schofield) in a voice-over narration. The film closely follows the story and character trajectory of the novel. Some of the novel's characters are composites in the film. The tone of the novel is generally darker than that of the film, and in the novel Debbie and her best friend Sue, who join the surfer gang, are shown to be much more willing participants in activities than they are in the film. Some of the darker moments of the book have been removed or softened for the film. The film adds a comedy beach brawl between the surfers and the lifeguards not present in the novel.

Lette complained that "the film sanitised the plot by omitting central references to miscarriage and abortion. The movie depicts a culture in which gang rape is incidental, mindless violence is amusing and hard drug use is fatal, but it was unable to address the consequences of the brutal sexual economy in which the girls must exist."^[1]

Much of the obscure surfer slang of the novel was omitted from the film. The novel features some discussion about television series Number 96. One passage of the novel that mentions the title is recounted by the film's protagonist in a voice-over narration, but because the series had ended by the time of the 1981 film the series title is replaced by the generic term "television".

Behind the scenes[link]

Lead actor in the film, Nell Schofield, said that "It's a very honest and realistic movie. It touches on this and it touches on that. I really like it. It's subtle and doesn't preach: 'This is the way of life.'" Schofield felt that "Different sections of the audience will perceive different levels. The parents who go and see it will come out and either believe it or it will give them a bit of a jolt. They'll start looking at their kids a different way and try to bridge the generation gap." She added that "The film is feminist in a way. I think it is also a comment on peer group pressure, male chauvinism in teenage groups, school and parent hassles."^[2]

Schofield found the surfing scenes easy because she was an avid surfer in real life. "Like Debbie, I wanted to be a surfie chick. But once I was, I wanted out before it got too heavy. I hated the alcohol and the drug scene. I saw so many kids fall down on the ground after taking drugs." Of making the film Schofield said "We didn't expect any glitter, and we didn't get any. It was hard work."^[2]

Soundtrack[link]

The theme song "Puberty Blues" was written by Tim Finn. In the film it was sung by Sharon O'Neill. It was released by Jenny Morris as a single on Mushroom Records in December 1981.

Box Office[link]

Puberty Blues grossed $3,918,000 at the box office in Australia,^[3] which is equivalent to $12,694,320 in 2009 dollars.

See also[link]

• Cinema of Australia
• Puberty Blues (TV series)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Murray, Scott (editor), Australian Film, 1978-1994, Oxford, 1995. ISBN 0-19-553777-7

External links[link]

• Puberty Blues at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Kathy Lette
• Puberty Blues at the National Film and Sound Archive

Kathy Lette (born 11 November 1958) is an Australian author who has written a number of bestselling books.

Born in Sydney's southern suburbs, she first attracted attention in 1979 as the co-author (with friend Gabrielle Carey) of Puberty Blues, a strongly autobiographical, proto-feminist teen novel about two 13-year-old southern suburbs girls attempting to improve their social status by ingratiating themselves with the "Greenhill gang" of surfers. The book was made into a movie in 1981.

As an adult, Lette became a newspaper columnist and sitcom writer, but returned to the novel form with Girls' Night Out in 1988 and has since written several more novels and plays, including Foetal Attraction, Mad Cows in 1996 (which was made into a film starring Joanna Lumley and Anna Friel) and Dead Sexy.

Despite her stereotyping of English people as condescending and unfriendly,^[1] Lette lives in London and is married to a fellow Australian expatriate, Geoffrey Robertson QC, whom she first met while still married to Kim Williams, when appearing on Robertson's TV panel debate show Hypotheticals. They have two children, Julius and Georgina. Kim Williams, now chief executive officer of News Limited, was then CEO of the Australian Film Commission.

In 2007, Lette published the book How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints)^[2] which was turned into an opera in 2011 by composer Alan John and playwright Timothy Daly; it was premiered at the Victorian Opera, conducted by Richard Gill.^[3] The same year, she briefly appeared on Sunrise as a London correspondent, a part of the Global Notebook.

In 2008, Lette published To Love, Honour & Betray (Till Divorce Us Do Part), a romantic novel with hints of comedy from the frequent use of sarcasm and satire.

With Jessica Adams, Maggie Alderson and Imogen Edwards-Jones, Lette edited an anthology by prominent women writers of erotic short-stories, In Bed with... (2009), including contributions from Louise Doughty, Esther Freud, Ali Smith, Joan Smith, Rachel Johnson and Fay Weldon, each publishing under a pseudonym.

In April 2009, Lette contributed to the fourth issue of the literary magazine Notes from the Underground with a piece honouring her close friend John Mortimer. In November 2009, she received an honorary doctorate from Southampton Solent University.^[4][5]

Lette teamed up with Radox to write a water resistant book, which was released free online in September 2009, with an aim to encourage women to be selfish with their time.

She is a supporter of the UK Labour Party.^[6]

Lette appeared in the The Sydney Morning Herald of 20 August 1978 pictured in Martin Place with her friend Gabrielle Carey in an article titled "Buskers Lose Freak Tag"; they were busking and singing in Martin Place.^[7] A young Lette stood up for buskers' rights not to be moved on as Sydney City Council enforced a 1919 Act of Parliament in New South Wales.

Books[link]

Novels[link]

• Puberty Blues (1979) (with Gabrielle Carey)
• Girls' Night Out (1988)
• The Llama Parlour (1992)
• Foetal Attraction (1993)
• Mad Cows (1996)
• Altar Ego (1998)
• Nip 'n' Tuck (2001)
• Dead Sexy (2005)
• How to Kill Your Husband (and Other Handy Household Hints) (2006)
• To Love Honour and Obey (Till Divorce Us Do Part) (2008)
• The Boy Who Fell to Earth (2012)

Other[link]

• Men: a User's Guide (2010) (Humour)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kathy Lette's homepage
• Kathy Lette Be Selfish – Kathy Lette gives away her newest novel.

This article about an Australian writer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Gabrielle Carey (born 10 January 1959) is an Australian writer noted for the teen novel Puberty Blues which she co-wrote with Kathy Lette. This novel was the first teenage novel published in Australia that was actually written by teenagers.^[1]

Life[link]

Carey was born in Sydney, and was raised in an atheist, humanist household. While in Ireland in the mid-eighties she converted to the Catholic faith, becoming convinced of the importance of spirituality in everyday life. After a year in Ireland she left and lived for several years in a small village in Mexico, returning to Australia in the early 1990s.

Carey has a daughter, Brigid, and a son, Jimmy. She lives in Sydney and is a freelance writer, writing occasional articles for The Sydney Morning Herald and other newspapers. She currently works as a lecturer in writing at the University of Technology, Sydney.

[edit] Puberty Blues

Carey and Lette met as teenagers at the age of 12 while still at school and became best friends. Both girls left school early (Carey at 15 and Lette a year later) against the wishes of their families. Leaving home they shared a flat together and wrote Puberty Blues, which was based on real events. The novel shocked many people by its graphic description of teenage behaviour.

When the book was published Carey and Lette separated and their lives moved in different directions.^[2] In 1981 a film version of the novel Puberty Blues was made, directed by Bruce Beresford.

A film version of Carey's autobiographical book, Just Us, an account of her relationship with Parramatta Gaol prisoner Terry Haley, was also made in 1986. It was directed by Gordon Glenn from a screenplay by Ted Roberts.

Publications[link]

Novels[link]

• Puberty Blues with Kathy Lette (McPhee Gribble, 1979) ISBN 0-86914-010-8
• The Borrowed Girl (Picador, 1994) ISBN 0-330-35598-8

Autobiography[link]

• Just Us (Penguin Books, 1984) ISBN 0-14-007425-2
• In My Father's House (Pan Macmillan Publishers Australia, 1992) ISBN 0-330-27294-2

Personal Essays[link]

• So Many Selves (ABC Books, 2006) ISBN 978-0-7333-1982-2
• Waiting Room (Scribe Publications, 2009) ISBN 978-1-921372-62-9

Edited[link]

• The Penguin Book of Death with Rosemary Sorensen (Penguin Books, 1997) ISBN 0-14-025938-4

References[link]

External links[link]

• Gabrielle Carey official website
• The Big Chill. ABC: Australian Story Transcripts (Retrieved 15 September 2007)

This article about an Australian writer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e