Perfect cast and a good story

Good concept, poorly executed.

Awesome Movie

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Rich girl Ferris Whitney (Tatum O'Neal) and poor tough girl Angel Bright (Kristy McNichol) are 15 year olds going to summer camp. They get into a fight right away. They don't get along but they are both teased as being virgins by mean girl Cinder Carlson. Cinder sets up bets to see whether Ferris or Angel loses her virginity first. Ferris falls for coach Gary Callahan (Armand Assante) and Angel takes hunky streetwise Randy (Matt Dillon) from the boys' camp.It starts out with a good mean girl and two great child actors of their era. I like what it's setting up to do. The problem starts with the males. Assante is way too old and a bit awkward. Dillon is hunky hot with super fine hair. However he's a bit too empty. I like the girls' drama together but their time with the guys aren't that compelling. McNichol acts her little heart out bringing on the waterworks. It's not a broad teen comedy but it doesn't rise to be an intense coming-of-age story either. The girls are good but this could be better.

I saw this film in the early Eighties, but it made little impression on me, as I remembered almost nothing from it. Now it's thirty years later, and I found it rather uncomfortable to watch. (And I don't even have daughters!) Teen sex was really cool when I was a teen, but now the whole concept seems downright icky.This seems to have been a vehicle for Tatum O'Neal, and she was cute and competent throughout. However it seems that Kristy McNichol had the larger part, and the much deeper one as well. Matt Dillon looked like such a complete punk. (I'm sure I looked just the same at about that time.) And I always thought of Cynthia Nixon as an older actress, (yes she's younger than me) so it was interesting to see her work as a child.Overall, I didn't find this very enjoyable.

At "Camp Little Wolf" for girls, two 15-year-olds compete to see who will lose her virginity first. Marlboro smoking Kristy McNichol (as Angel Bright) sets her sights on nearby "Camp Tomahawk" hunk Matt Dillon (as Randy Adams), while rich kid Tatum O'Neal (as Ferris Whitney) targets hairy camp counselor Armand Assante (as Gary Callahan). By the time you get to the food fight, you realize "Little Darlings" meets expectations for being dumb and disappointing. However, stick around to see Ms. McNichol give her role some unexpected depth. She and Mr. Dillon are quite believable. He and the girls are cute.****** Little Darlings (3/21/80) Ronald F. Maxwell ~ Kristy McNichol, Tatum O'Neal, Matt Dillon, Armand Assante

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!