FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

edwagreen Usually, these summer camp pictures are ridiculous. This film started out at that way with 2 girls from different backgrounds at one another from the very moment they meet. In addition, they are surrounded by the most obnoxious other girls, including a 10 year old. Some supervision at that camp when she is allowed to stay with the older bunch of brats.The picture turns around and becomes one of the coming-of-age films where a bet is placed which girl shall lose her virginity first. Kristy McNichol is the girl from the "bad" track. She is tough with her constantly lighting the Marlboros. She falls for a young Matt Dillon (with buster brown haircut)and the two of them make it. Tatum O'Neal, the rich kid, envisions herself with French teacher and summer counselor Armand Assante.The girls realize the seriousness of their actions which is definitely the redeeming quality in this film.When they reach the city at summer's end, they're totally different and that's what makes this picture.

josh203 What ultimately destroys this movie is its cowardice. It pretends to be risqué -- two teen girls at summer camp competing to see who can lose their virginity first. But ultimately, it's just another Hollywood morality tale, which pretends to be honest because a few of the teens cuss, smoke, drink, and have sex but ends with a cheesy, predictable, conventional message -- that first casual sexual experience will leave a girl miserable -- that could just as well have been delivered by the pope.So I'd say late-night TV viewing material at best, not something that I'd want to buy. Too bad, because with a bit of "Animal House" subversiveness and abandon this movie could have been in-your-face and hysterical. The elements are there, but it's clear that the filmmakers (or, I suspect, the suits at the studio) didn't have the guts to transcend the conventions of the teen exploitation flick. For contemporaneous movies that portrays teens as they really are, see "Over the Edge" or "The Outsiders." Both succeed because they're frank rather than scared.

HelloTexas11 In his capsule review of 'Little Darlings,' Leonard Maltin writes, "(it's) not quite as sleazy as it sounds, but not very inspiring either," which pretty much sums up reaction to this 'coming of age' film. I tend to mostly agree with that sentiment, though I find it a bit unfair. While certainly no classic, 'Little Darlings' does have its moments as well as two fine performances by Tatum O'Neal and Kristy McNichol. The young actresses had already established themselves as up-and-comers, O'Neal by being the youngest actress to win an Oscar (for 'Paper Moon') while McNichol had garnered favorable notices for her tomboy-ish role in the TV series, 'Family.' In 'Little Darlings,' O'Neal plays Ferris, a precocious teen girl of privilege and McNichol plays, well, a tomboy named Angel with a lot of street smarts who is more sensitive than she lets on. So neither actress is really playing against type here. They do show their acting chops though and they're both better than the material. They go to a girls' summer camp and find themselves in the center of a contest to see which of them can lose her virginity first. The other girls at the camp split into competing teams and place bets. This is where a lot of confusion about the film comes from; it was marketed as sort of a female version of 'Porky's' and this is a wholly inaccurate portrayal of the movie. Much of it could be lifted straight from a Disney flick; there's a predictably lame food fight and an 'oh gosh, aren't we wild' hijacking of a school bus. 'Little Darlings' can't decide if it wants to be a G-rated kids flick or a serious drama about growing up. But it certainly has nothing in common with 'Porky's.' Angel sets her sights on a suitable prospect (Matt Dillon) at the boy's camp across the lake; she seems less worried about having sex, since her floozy mother has described it as "no big deal." Ferris is a bit more ambitious. She targets a camp counselor, Gary (Armand Assante), a grown man no less, and envisions them having a romantic candle-lit dinner before whatever happens when you have sex takes place. In the end, Angel does have an intimate encounter of sorts with 'Randy' (good name) but it turns out to be disappointing and disturbing to her, more so than she envisioned. Ferris, on the other hand, blithely concocts in her mind a night of passion with Gary as she imagines it might be, which she describes in such rapturous terms to the other girls that they all believe she did, in fact, go to bed with him. The moral, no doubt, is that for a 16-year-old girl, fantasizing about sex is much better than actually having it. Or at least it was in this case. Some of the scenes toward the end are so well written and performed, it seems a shame they have to share screen time with the goofy nonsense in the middle. 'Little Darlings' wants to be more than it is, but only occasionally gets it right. It's also a shame that both Tatum O'Neal and Kristy McNichol were unable, for various reasons, to capitalize on their early successes and continue with interesting and successful roles. They showed a lot of promise, and 'Little Darlings' is worth seeing for their performances alone.

kolohepeanut Very entertaining movie but what really makes it worthwhile is the wonderful performance by Kristy McNicol. That alone makes it worth watching - she carries the movie all the way through. Love the scene where she and Tatum have their heart-to-heart confession of what really happened - Kristy shows true emotion. Matt Dillon sure was a cute thing back then! Also, watch for a very young Cynthia Nixon from Sex in the City playing the hippie kid. And Armand Asante - what can I say! He was sure in his prime in the looks department! Tatum is only just okay in this film but then maybe that's how her character was supposed to be. A fun watch!