Gidget (Cindy Carol), now eighteen years old and ready to travel independently around the world, convinces her parents to pay for her to travel to Rome with Moondoggie (James Darren) and some of their friends. When Gidget Goes to Rome and a tour guide, Daniela (Danielle de Metz), is hired to show her and her friends around the city, Moondoggie and the other guys take a quick liking to her, making Gidget and her friends jealous. Once again Gidget and Moondoggie’s relationship is tested, this time in the Eternal City.
The Gidget series has slowly progressed from mildly entertaining to morbidly frustrating. Now, in the third installment of the franchise, the title character, Gidget, is played by a third actor who, very much like Deborah Walley in Gidget Goes Hawaiian, is terribly annoying. Gidget Goes to Rome sees the titular character more self-centered and whiney than ever. For whatever reason, director Paul Wendkos and the writers, paint Gidget in a horrific light. What viewers had grown to love about her, her independence, work ethic, and ability to intrigue everyone around her, were completely omitted from Gidget Goes to Rome, not only leaving viewers with an entirely different character, but one that audiences are sure to dislike. In addition to changing Gidget, Moondoggie gets an unflattering makeover as well. He, too, has become selfish and irritating, causing viewers to fall out of love with the formerly intriguing character. The series of writers who took part in further developing the characters in this film fail miserably, providing nothing more than disappointment.
The irrational and unpleasant characters are only made worse by the ridiculousness of the story. From beginning to end the characters are placed in oddly precarious situations that bring out the worst in each character and pulls viewers further away from anything remotely related to appreciation. One of the things that viewers appreciate about Gidget is the fact that, unlike most other girls, she likes to surf and has excelled at the sport, making her unique and relatable in some roundabout ways. Gidget Goes to Rome speaks very little about surfing and, again, creates a separation between the Gidget viewers had fallen in love with and the genuine trash that is Gidget Goes to Rome.
Being that the majority of Gidget Goes to Rome takes place in Italy a language barrier is present from time to time. The occasional Italian phrase or sign pops up throughout and, rather than utilizing subtitles to clarify things, the film freezes momentarily and a voiceover says “translation…” and proceeds to translate the unfamiliar language. This makes many of the already frustrating scenes much more cumbersome. There is no need to add a voiceover to express what is taking place and the decision to do so simply reminds viewers of what a poor job Wendkos does of developing this film.
Since Gidget the main character has been recast and essentially rewritten a number of times. Gidget Goes to Rome falls further away from the initial concept of the titular character, and viewers struggle to appreciate nearly anything that takes place. The characters have become so unbearable and so ridiculous that audiences have no reason to buy into the already absurd story. I can’t be entirely sure what Wendkos’ goal was during the production of Gidget Goes to Rome, but I can assure you that whatever he had in mind failed miserably.
Directed by Paul Wendkos. Written by Ruth Brooks Flippen, Katherine Albert, Dale Eunson & Frederick Kohner. Starring James Darren, Cindy Carol, Jessie Royce Landis, Cesare Danova, Danielle De Metz, etc.
⭐⭐/10
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