Shag

The summer of 1963. Carson is about to marry, and her friends Melaina, Pudge and Luanne take her to Myrtle Beach for one last weekend. The aim is to get loose: a dance contest, the beach, boys, and everything their families must not know. Each of them carries her own problem; Melaina dreams of Hollywood, Luanne wants to stop obeying the rules, Pudge has no confidence, and Carson is not sure about the man she is marrying. Zelda Barron's film is set in the American South of the early 1960s and takes its name from the dance of the period. The narrative runs in the shape of youth comedy, but behind it stands how narrow a life outside marriage was for women. Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda, Annabeth Gish and Page Hannah play the four friends. Who it's for: Viewers who like 1980s period youth films, dance sequences, and stories about a group of friends. Who it's not for: The narrative is predictable and the characters run to type. The picture of the period is also too clean.