Coming of Age Films—The Blue Lagoon

Last week we looked at Grease [1973], a film that explored the lives and loves of a bunch of high school kids in California. This week it’s on to another waterside location in The Blue Lagoon [1980] by Douglas Day Stewart.

The film tells the story of a couple of 7-year-old cousins, a boy and a girl, in Victorian times, who are sailing in the South Seas with their dad, uncle and Paddy, a crewman. When the ship catches fire, the cousins get in a lifeboat with Paddy while their dad and uncle take a second life boat. But the two boats are separated and Paddy and the kids end up on a lush, tropical island that appears to be uninhabited.

Try not to be logical and insist that no father would be separated from his kids in this situation—that he’d be sure they were in HIS lifeboat. If you’re logical, we have no story.

But this is a story—so of course there are no dangerous wild animals to bother them… kind of easy for it to be paradise when there are no threats!! And Paddy teaches them to fish, teaches them some basic survival skills, and assumes they’ll all be rescued sometime soon.

But one night Paddy, having discovered a barrel of rum that has washed up on shore, gets incredibly drunk and manages to drown. The kids—the 7-year-olds—discover his dead body the next morning.

And there you have your story—two kids stranded on a tropical island. Will they survive?? And as they grow up, what will happen—which is the real focus of the story. Because soon we cut to them as young adults and they’re discovering their sexuality.

Take a look at the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYhhph8uZyk

Let’s just say the critics did not take kindly to this film. But audiences seemed to enjoy it. Personally, I had a problem getting past all the far-fetched story points.

But the overriding question for me, as I look back on this film, is wondering what it would be like if it was made today. Brooke Shields was 14 when she made this film. Today I doubt that a 14-year-old could get cast in this part because she would be considered too young. After all, [SPOILER ALERT] she has a child when she’s little more than a child herself. An older actress would have to be cast in the part if the film was made today.

This isn’t an unimportant point. I make it because if you’re working on a coming of age film that has younger actors in it, you need to be aware of what will and won’t be accepted in the marketplace. You need to write while you’re cognizant of the times you’re living in.

The Blue Lagoon has incredible cinematography—which, in my opinion, makes it worth watching. And, as a writer, it’s kind of fun to imagine the studio giving you the writing assignment of coming up with a new way to tell the story for today’s audiences… how would you do it??

Next week, it’s on to a high school senior who wants the Ivy League education but isn’t smart enough to get in on his own… and then develops a little side business that will probably make it certain that the Ivy League won’t be in his future. It’s 1983’s Risky Business.

Copyright © Diane Lake

13Jun21

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