Puberty Blues
A
remake of a movie that was a book that is now a TV series. It’s all
confusing.
Set in
Australia in the peek of the sex drugs and rock ‘n’ roll of the 70’s,
Puberty Blues is the coming of age story of two best friends Debbie
(Ashleigh Cummings) and Sue (Brenna Harding) that just try to fit in
with the popular girls and make the most out of their teenage years. The
story also involves the parents of the girls through their own
relationships and hard times.
The
series is created by John Edwards and Imogen Banks previously producing
great shows like ‘Offspring’ and ‘Tangle’, while Edwards solely creating
some of the best Australia dramas ever made like ‘The Alice’, ‘ Police
Rescue’ and ‘The Secret Life of Us’ to name a few. In the recent years
Aussie dramas have really stepped up their game from being
camp
and over dramatic to being compared to great shows ‘Mad Men’ or
‘Downtown Abbey’. Puberty Blues is no different.
No
mobile phones, no video games, Call of Duty’s producers weren’t even
born yet. These were times where kids lived outside and weren’t hung up
in who got kicked off X-Factor. Puberty Blues is a perfect blend of
drama and humour, set on the beaches of the Sutherland Shire in Sydney,
the series captures both the look and feel of the seventies and follows
closely to the book written by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey, Unlike
the movie made way back in 1981 this new incarnation doesn’t hide away
from subjects like sex and drugs and shows them off in all their dark
glory. Puberty Blues is confronting and at times brutally honest and
while the series appears to be targeted at teens I would say the show is
more age appropriate for adults and people that grew up in the
seventies.
Newcomers Ashleigh Cummings and Brenna Harding are truly the breakout
stars of the show, leading a cast of great Australian actors that
include Claudia Karvan and Jeremy Lindsay Taylor playing the parents of
Debbie. Judy (Karvan) and Martin (Taylor) have great chemistry together
even though their marriage has seen better days the pair work well off
each other and I found myself intrigued as to where their story line
would be taken rather then sticking with the kids. Other big names
include Susie Porter, Dan Wyllie, Rodger Corser and Isabelle Cornish
younger sister of Abbie Cornish.
The
BluRay edition of the series is packed to the brim with Special
Features. That includes hours of behind the scenes features, cast
interviews and some deleted scenes. Notably I found myself drawn
towards “Creating the look” which was an awesome feature that takes a
look into bringing in cars, old furniture and getting the retro fashion
right down to a tee for the show.
Puberty Blues is a perfect Australian drama that can be compared to the
best of what other countries have to offer.
