Long before Kate Bosworth made surfing look cool and sexy in Blue Crush, American girls had a different idol hanging 10 with the boys, an idol named Gidget. Featured in a series of hit movies and a popular televisions series (starring Sally Fields in the title role), the image of the free-spirited girl next door who loved having fun on a surfboard is an important part of American culture. Who knew she was based on an actual girl? The answer, with the exception of the few people who actually were part of the 1950s surfing scene where it all began, is writer/director Brian Gillogly. In his fascinating film, Gillogly does a nice job of balancing the facts of the real Gidget’s life with the fiction that American pop culture has built around her over the years. The best part is listening to today’s surfers as they proudly proclaim what Gidget has meant to them.
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