This drama/comedy from Canada was released in 1999, but it took me 3 years to actually find a copy of it in the US. Directed by Allan Moyle who is most notably recognized for directing Pump up the Volume, The Gun is Betty Lou’s Handbag and Empire Records, it is a touching coming of age story set in Nova Scotia in the 1970’s. It’s not your typical coming of age mind you so this is not be a remake of My Girl or anything. New Waterford Girl is about 15 year old Agnes-Marie “Moonie” Potty, a sullen girl with dreams of leaving the small fishing town. She soon meets Lou Benoza, a girl about her age who just moved to New Waterford from New York with her mother after her father, a boxer, wound up in jail. Lou is fire and spunk to Moonie’s angst. Both being outsiders in the social community, they become friends, relying on the information the other has.
Moonie is a creative girl, and with her teacher’s help, he gets her connected to an art school in New York City. Her family refuses to let her leave to go on her own, and this is when Moonie devises her perfect escape plan. Seeing that young pregnant teenagers are sent away, Moonie tries to ruin her reputation, and fake a pregnancy in order to leave. With Lou’s propensity for being outgoing and is gaining quite a following acting as a boxing lie detector, Moonie gets into the party circles creating the illusion of being a slut.
There is so much more under the surface, there is a spirit of life and being different. A story of where one comes from and the community and attachments made that make this a uniquely funny and touching story. Far superior to the teenage coming of age stories of late.
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