According to the blurbs on the Blu-ray’s case, 1980’s Gregory’s Girl offers “one of the most beloved British films of all-time”. That sets a high bar, and I felt intrigued to see if the movie deserved it.

Set in Scotland, awkward 16-year-old Gregory (Gordon John Sinclair) struggles with the opposite sex. This becomes a bigger problem when he develops a major crush on Dorothy (Dee Hepburn), a player on his soccer squad – and the first female to make this team.

In over his head, Gregory seeks assistance with his attempts to woo Dorothy. When his friends’ advice fails, Gregory turns to an unusual source: his 10-year-old sister Madeline (Allison Forster).

That spin on the Cyrano story gives Girl a pretty “high concept” twist – or it would if the movie focused on that domain more prominently. In truth, Girl tends to spread its narrative pretty thin.

So why did I emphasize the involvement of Madeline? Because “weedy dork pines for cute girl” seemed insufficient as a synopsis.

But it probably summarizes Girl as well as anything, though it ignores the ample screentime allotted to secondary characters. Despite the film’s title, we get a lot of cinematic real estate spent with the antics of neither Gregory nor his girl.

Virtually all of these elements come back to the movie’s main focus: the awkward interactions of males and females. Even when the story veers toward those secondary roles, they still tend to offer perspectives on gender interactions, with an emphasis on the misguided views of males.

All of this gives Girl much more of a Meatballs feel that I anticipated. Not that Girl really resembles the 1979 Bill Murray flick in concrete ways, but both mix broad comedy and coming of age drama in less than concise ways.

That said, Girl fares better than the super-erratic Meatballs. The latter never quite figured out where it wanted to go, whereas Girl feels more focused.

Still, the movie goes astray more than I’d like, mainly because so many of the non-Gregory moments feel superfluous. The film doesn’t develop them in a manner that offers insight, so these mostly comedic beats come across as a distraction.

Despite these missteps, Girl offers a moderately charming experience, and the actors help. As our lead, Sinclair manages a suitably gawky and geeky performance, but he doesn’t overdo these traits, so he seems fairly natural.

In addition, Hepburn proves effective as the apple of Gregory’s eye. She seems pretty enough to warrant the attention and she also pulls off the athletic side of the role, so we buy her as a skilled soccer player.

Does Girl deserve the alleged adoration it inspires in the UK? Probably not, as the movie’s erratic side hampers it. Still, the flick musters a likable experience and creates a fairly enjoyable mix of comedy and drama.

Gregory’s Girl appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This turned into an appealing presentation.

Sharpness usually fared well. Occasional shots felt a smidgen soft, but the majority of the image boasted nice delineation.

I witnessed no signs of jagged edges or shimmering, and the movie lacked edge haloes. A light layer of grain implied the absence of digital noise reduction, and print flaws remained absent.

Colors tended toward a low-key palette with a minor push toward blue and yellow at times. For the most part, hues felt fairly natural. Though not vivid, the tones suited the story and looked fine.

Blacks came across as deep and dense, while low-light shots brought out clear imagery. I felt pleased with this solid transfer.

Although the disc’s package claims we get a stereo mix, to my ears the included Dolby Digital 2.0 track sounded like pure monaural. If the material ever spread beyond the center, these ears couldn’t detect it.

In terms of quality, the audio inevitably seemed dated, but the mix held up fairly well. Speech came across as reasonably concise. The lines could feel slightly metallic and edgy on occasion, but they always remained intelligible.

Music showed pretty good pep, with warm tones, and effects offered acceptable clarity and accuracy. A chatty movie, those elements lacked much to do, but they worked fine given the film’s ambitions and age.

I did deduct points for the absence of a lossless option, as a Blu-ray from 2020 shouldn’t come without one. Still, the track worked fine given its vintage and goals.

A few extras fill out the disc, and we open with an audio commentary from writer/director Bill Forsyth and film historian Mark Kermode. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific look at the project’s roots and path to the screen, aspects of Forsyth’s career as a young filmmaker, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, editing, and reflections of movies.

That last topic dominates the track, so don’t expect a particularly Girl and screen-specific discussion. While Forsyth and Kermode occasionally touch on the material we see, they usually digress into more general topics connects to Forsyth’s career.

As found here, that works fine. While Girl fans may feel frustrated by the semi-lack of movie-specific information, the commentary offers a frank, informative discussion that makes it enjoyable.

A few video pieces follow, and Bill Forsyth on Gregory’s Girl runs 20 minutes, 43 seconds. Here the director discusses aspects of the film’s creation. Inevitably, we get more than a little repetition from the commentary, but we find enough new material to make the chat worth a listen.

With The Early Years, we get a 20-minute, one-second reel in which Forsyth covers his film work prior to and including Girl. This one offers more redundant material than I’d like. It comes with a few new insights but it lacks a ton of fresh information.

Next comes Gregory’s Girl Memories, a 10-minute, 59-second piece with actor Clare Grogan. She talks about her career and her time on the film. Nothing especially memorable appears, but Grogan offers a likable view of her experiences.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we get promos for All About Lily Chou Chou and The Reflecting Skin.

Finally, the package comes with a booklet. It mixes photos, credits and an essay from film scholar Jonathan Murray to offer a nice finish to the set.

As a coming of age tale, Gregory’s Girl comes with decent charms. However, it lacks much focus and can go off-task too often to fully satisfy. The Blu-ray boasts very good picture along with adequate audio and a mix of bonus materials. Though inconsistent, the film brings decent entertainment.