Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961)

Deborah Walley is certainly no Sandra Dee, 2 April 2006

In many respects, Gidget Goes Hawaiian is a better movie than Gidget. Some of the comedy is actually funny, it's less sappy, and Carl Reiner is a much better father. Also there are fewer of the seemingly endless surfing scenes that make up almost half of Gidget's runtime. Unfortunately, however, not every aspect of Gidget Goes Hawaiian is better. The biggest and most obvious problem is Deborah Walley in the title role. In short, she's HORRIBLE! I couldn't believe I found myself missing Sandra Dee. Dee possessed qualities (bubbly, spunky, cute) that are sadly missing from Walley. I could never get past her or her performance long enough to enjoy what the film had to offer.

5/10