Today’s movie is a comedy-drama with a scene that happens on
July 4. I hope you will watch this film tonight and enjoy it.
MY GIRL
In 1972 eleven year old hypochondriac, Vada Sultenfuss
lives with her widowed father Harry, who is a mortician and her alzheimer
inflicted Gramoo. Her father can’t
relate to her, so he ignores her. Then one day free spirit Shelly DeVoto gets
hired as a makeup artist at the mortuary. Vada’s best friend is a boy Thomas
J., who’s allergic to everything. Vada has a crush on her English teacher, Mr.
Bixler. As the summer progresses Harry
and Shelly begin developing an attraction for each other, which is not
appreciated by Vada, even though Shelly tries to act as a mother towards Vada.
Vada takes a summer writers class led by Mr. Bixler. On July 4, 1972 when
Shelly’s ex-husband shows up to try and take her motor home, Harry threatens to
plant him in the front yard if he ever comes back. [53:06 to 59:21] One day
Thomas J. and Vada knock down a hornet’s nest and she loses her prized mood
ring. Later, Vada decides to run away from home because she is upset about the
developing relationship between her father and Shelly, but when she returns no
one has even noticed she had left. Vada has her first period and Gramoo
interrupts a funeral service. Vada and
Thomas J. kiss. Thomas J. goes back to find Vada’s mood ring and is stung to
death by the hornets. Vada is devastated and retreats into herself, but has an
emotional outburst at Thomas J. ‘s funeral. She runs away and becomes even more
agitated after she meets Mr. Bixler’s fiancée.
Vada returns and confesses to Shelly that she stole the money to pay for
the writing class from her. Vada and her father are able to reconcile and move
on. Thomas J. ‘s mother gives Vada the
mood ring found on his body.
A bittersweet
film. Has some very funny moments, but also teaches some important lessons.
Vada learns not to hold things inside. Her father learns that you can’t shield
children from the world and the longer you try the more you can hurt them.
This is an Independence Day
party, which is this date as per Celebrations: The Complete Book of American
Holidays by Robert Myers, Doubleday
& Co., Garden City, NY, 1972) at page 188. The calendar at 10:23 a few days
previous shows the month as June, so it is not Memorial Day.
Producers - Brian Grazer, Joseph M. Caracciolo and David
T. Friendly
Director - Howard Zieff
Screenplay - Laurice Elehwany
Narrator - Anna Chlumsky
Runtime – 1 hour 42 minutes
Released – November 27, 1991
Starring -
Anna Chlumsky as Vada Sultenfuss
Macaulay Culkin as Thomas J.
Dan Aykroyd as Harry Sultenfuss
Jamie Lee Curtis as Shelly DeVoto
Richard Masur as Phil Sultenfuss
Ann Nelson as Gramoo
Griffin Dunne as Mr. Bixler
Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.
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