Madeline: “Hard work being in love, eh? Especially when you don’t know which girl it is.”
For those of you who know me well, it is no secret that I’m a huge The Lord of the Rings fan. . . and it has been a goal of mine to meet and interview as many stars from the trilogy as possible. So, when I got the chance to chat with Billy Boyd about his favourite film, it was an absolute treat.
Best known for playing Peregrin ‘Pippin’ Took, one of the loveable and quite comedic hobbits in the franchise (who is most often seen opposite Dominic Monahan’s Merry), it is most definitely worth highlighting some of his other roles, including 2003’s epic Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (where he plays coxswain Barrett Bonden), 2005’s On a Clear Day (a dramedy about swimming the English channel), while he also features in both the horror film Seed of Chucky and the television show Chucky (2021-2024), and even appeared in four episodes of the very popular series Outlander as Gerald Forbes.
An original British Quad movie poster for the film Gregory’s Girl
On the topic of his favourite film, the Scotsman promptly highlighted the coming-of-age Scottish romantic comedy Gregory’s Girl (1980). Gushing over its charm, loveable comedy, as well as the significance it holds to his native Scotland as a seminal movie for the country, he was even more excited to tell me how he recently walked into a shop and stumbled upon an original movie poster from the film. . . he was so thrilled to add it to his personal collection.
Written and directed by Bill Forsyth, the story follows the titular Gregory (John Gordon Sinclair), a rather awkward high school boy who also plays on the soccer team. Not particularly good, it does not take long for the coach, Phil Menzies (Jake D’Arcy) to search for a more offensive replacement. . . to the surprise of everyone, Dorothy (Dee Hepburn) turns out to be the star of the tryout.
Getting bumped from his position by Dorothy and moved back into the goal-keeping position, Gregory is actually all for it. . . as he spends much more time infatuated with the attractive teen than honing his skills at his new position. Trying to figure out an angle to ask her out, he tries to find help with his much more mature and bake-happy friend Steve (Billy Greenlees), before having to fall back on some rather sound advice from a less than expected source – his wise beyond her years younger sister Madeline (Allison Forster).
Though he finally builds up the nerve to ask her out. . . and she says yes, will she actually show up for their date? Oddly enough, some of her friends start showing up instead. . . firstly Carol (Caroline Guthrie) – who takes him to a fish and chips shop, then Margo (Carol Macartney) – taking him for a walk all the way to Susan (Clare Grogan) – who spends the most time with him and ends the most bizarre of dates. What does this mean for Gregory? Does it bring into question which of these women are, in fact, Gregory’s girl? Or, does that even matter, or might this simply be part of his coming-of-age experience?
More subtle and realistic than your prototypical American teen comedy, this film captures the awkwardness and innocense of those formative years. Sinclair provides his Gregory with an uncoordinated and goofy charm, a gentle guy just looking to break into the dating pool. Added comedy comes from Andy (Robert Buchanan) and Charlie (Graham Thompson) – two friends who have even less luck than Gregory. . . they are floored by how impressive the guy is by having three dates in one night. They’re actually so desperate, they’re somehow hoping to hitchhike to Caracas (geography must not be one of their strong subjects) – as they’ve read that there is a much larger number of women to men ratio there.
Despite being made on a minuscule budget, its charm and grounded rom-com realness helped Gregory’s Girl become a surprise hit in both the UK and America (grossing north of £25,000,000 on a budget of £200,000). Leaving a lasting impact on numerous generations, it was placed at number 30 on the British Film Institute’s 100 top British films of the 20th century, while in 2015, Entertainment Weekly placed it at number 29 on their 50 best high school movies. So, add this one to your keeper pile. . . before it finally makes its way to Caracas.