My Girl (film)

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My Girl
Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed by	Howard Zieff
Produced by	Brian Grazer Joseph M. Caracciolo David T. Friendly
Written by	Laurice Elehwany
Starring	Dan Aykroyd Jamie Lee Curtis Macaulay Culkin Anna Chlumsky Peter Michael Goetz
Music by	James Newton Howard
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	November 27, 1991 (USA)
Running time	102 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15,000,000 US (est.)
Gross revenue	$59,847,242 US
Followed by	My Girl 2
IMDb profile

My Girl is a 1991 coming-of-age dramatic comedy starring Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky in her feature film debut. It was written by Laurice Elehwany and directed by Howard Zieff. The film was originally rated PG-13 then later became PG before release.^{[citation needed]}

A sequel, My Girl 2, was released in 1994.

1 Tagline
2 Plot
3 Cast
4 Music
5 Trivia
6 Cultural References
7 External links

[edit] Tagline

When your Dad's an undertaker, your Mom's in heaven, and your Grandma's got a screw loose...it's good to have a friend who understands you. Even if he is a boy.

[edit] Plot

Set in Madison, Pennsylvania in the summer of 1972, My Girl is a story of first love and loss.

Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) is a precocious 11-year-old tomboy and a hypochondriac. Vada's father, Harry Sultenfuss (Dan Aykroyd), is an awkward widower who doesn't seem to understand his daughter, and as a result, constantly ignores her. His profession as a funeral director has led Vada to develop an obsession with death as well as disease. Vada is also convinced that she killed her own mother, since her mother died in childbirth.

Vada is also teased by other girls because her only and best friend, Thomas J. Sennett (Macaulay Culkin), is a rather geeky, unpopular boy. Their summer adventures - from first kiss to last farewell - introduce Vada to the world of adolescence.

Vada's summer begins well. She befriends Shelley Devoto (Jamie Lee Curtis), the new make-up artist at her father's funeral parlor, who provides her with some much needed guidance. She is also infatuated with her teacher, Mr. Bixler, and steals some money from Shelley's trailer to attend a summer writing class that he is teaching.

But before long, things start to fall apart. Her father and Shelley start dating, Thomas J. dies from an allergic reaction to bee stings while looking for Vada's ring (which she lost when Thomas J. knocked down the beehive and the ring fell off Vada's finger when they were exploring in the woods), and she finds out that Mr. Bixler is engaged.

Her grief, however, manages to mend the rift between her and her father, and by the end of the movie, Vada has not only managed to deal with her pain, but overcome some of her previous issues.

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
Dan Aykroyd	Harry Sultenfuss
Jamie Lee Curtis	Shelly Devoto
Macaulay Culkin	Thomas J. Sennett
Anna Chlumsky	Vada Sultenfuss
Richard Masur	Phil Sultenfuss

[edit] Music

The soundtrack of the film contains many classic 1960s and 1970s pop hits in addition to the title song, including such oldies-radio staples as "Wedding Bell Blues" (Fifth Dimension), "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes), "Bad Moon Rising" (Creedence Clearwater Revival), "Good Lovin'" (The Rascals), and "Saturday in the Park" (Chicago). When she gets upset, Vada plugs her ears and sings "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," the Manfred Mann version of which is also included on the soundtrack album. In addition, Vada and Thomas J. play "The Name Game" and sing "Witch Doctor" in the film, and Vada has posters of Donny Osmond and The Carpenters on her bedroom wall.

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

This film marked the first on-screen kiss for both Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky.
Named after the 1965 Temptations song "My Girl"
To capture summertime Pennsylvania in the midst of a winter production schedule, the film was shot in Orlando, Florida and its surrounding communities.
The house used as the Sultenfuss' residence is actually a bed & breakfast inn in Bartow, Florida.
Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky won an MTV Movie Award for "Best Kiss" and were nominated for "Best On-Screen Duo" in 1992. Anna Chlumsky was also nominated in the "Best Breakthrough Performance" category.
Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis also co starred together in Christmas with the Kranks and Trading Places

[edit] Cultural References

In the film Accepted, after Justin Long's character performs a cover of The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop", he lists "not crying at the end of My Girl" as one of the things he cannot do.
Thomas J.'s death is referenced in the The OC episode entitled "The Heights". After crying during an intense conversation with ex-girlfriend Marissa, Luke later tells her that he hasn't cried like that "since Macaulay Culkin died in My Girl".