This is one of the 'perfect girl has a perfect life, loses it all, then learns it was not so perfect after all, and begins a new life' kind of films. Satyrical comedies, that can rather evilly make of fun of one group of people, showing how shallow they can be, and smiling upon another group. Films that do not really try to be serious about anything. And, at the same time, sweet stories that can make you cry.
The plot is predictable: girl meets a boy, they fall in love, yet there are many obstacles which they overcome. A classical love-story formula. Although this particular story brought more obstacles than I expected, making me even doubt if a happy ending was really possible.
The characters are lovely stereotypes: an overcaring mother, rivalling student girls, who are only interested in winning and keeping their good looks, another type of mother who knows that her daughter will be happy if she follows the rules and doesn't go out with someone from another race, the curious neighbours, the absurdly prejudiced people etc.
The beautiful unseriousness of the story: a grasshopper crawling through a salad in a luxurious restaurant, the grotesque despair of the sorority girls, the revelations of the heroine after she understands that life isn't as perfect as she thought, a car bursting in flames in mid-air and its driver somehow not dying (although human organism is something rather mysterious and people can sometimes survive dangers that are believed to be lethal). Carolyne's boyfriend accuses her of 'eating yoghurt'(I might have misheard, of course, but I loved it). Carolyne storms off from the beach, talks to her boyfriend, finds out about the sorority's 'tragedy', talks to a teacher and then remembers that Pumpkin is still on the beach, in the company of a lonely sea-gull (the gull is not a major character, more of an extra actually, but I developed a theory about it tying the food and the sun-shade nicely together and carrying it away).
And another component: the story is touching. Carolyne and Pumpkin really love each other. I watched this at home, so I cheered when they were doing fine and almost cried when it seemed that they would never be together again.
The plot is predictable: girl meets a boy, they fall in love, yet there are many obstacles which they overcome. A classical love-story formula. Although this particular story brought more obstacles than I expected, making me even doubt if a happy ending was really possible.
The characters are lovely stereotypes: an overcaring mother, rivalling student girls, who are only interested in winning and keeping their good looks, another type of mother who knows that her daughter will be happy if she follows the rules and doesn't go out with someone from another race, the curious neighbours, the absurdly prejudiced people etc.
The beautiful unseriousness of the story: a grasshopper crawling through a salad in a luxurious restaurant, the grotesque despair of the sorority girls, the revelations of the heroine after she understands that life isn't as perfect as she thought, a car bursting in flames in mid-air and its driver somehow not dying (although human organism is something rather mysterious and people can sometimes survive dangers that are believed to be lethal). Carolyne's boyfriend accuses her of 'eating yoghurt'(I might have misheard, of course, but I loved it). Carolyne storms off from the beach, talks to her boyfriend, finds out about the sorority's 'tragedy', talks to a teacher and then remembers that Pumpkin is still on the beach, in the company of a lonely sea-gull (the gull is not a major character, more of an extra actually, but I developed a theory about it tying the food and the sun-shade nicely together and carrying it away).
And another component: the story is touching. Carolyne and Pumpkin really love each other. I watched this at home, so I cheered when they were doing fine and almost cried when it seemed that they would never be together again.