Peggy Sue got Married official movie poster.

‘Peggy Sue got Married’ is a movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1986. It stars Kathleen Turner as Peggy Sue, and Nicolas Cage (Coppola’s nephew) as Charlie Bodell. It is the story of 43 year old Peggy Sue, who is in the middle of a divorce with her infidel high school sweetheart, Charlie Bodell. On going to an organised high school reunion, she meets up with her old friends and recalls lots of memories. When Charlie appears at the party, she gets anxious and when she gets elected Queen for the night, she just cannot take any more and she faints. When she wakes up she finds herself in a blood donating infirmary, with a poster stating 1960. She is confused and see’s all her friends and people she knows from high school. After a while she comes to terms with the fact that she may have travelled back in time, and she realises this is a chance for her to start her life over, and to avoid marrying Charlie. However, she finds herself falling in love with him all over again, even with the problems she faces as a teenager.

This movie has a mixed morale of ‘second chances’, and ‘you can’t really change the future’. Peggy Sue tries to help others around her, and most of all, she tries changing her future. I like it firstly because of the late 50′s setting and music, but also because of the actual story. There isn’t much of a plot, just Peggy Sue trying to alter the future using what she knows, but it is still a heartfelt story of love, betrayal, jealousy, music, and a teenager’s problems. There also are many references to Dion and the Belmonts, a group popular during the late 50′s, the main setting for the film. At one point, we are even shown clips of the actual footage of the group performing ‘A Teenager in Love’. There are also some inconsistencies. During the reunion, we are shown a woman in a wheel chair called Rosalie, who doesn’t seem to have a counterpart. This is very confusing, and it may ruin the movie if you are trying to figure where her 1960 counterpart is all through out the movie. In the original script, Rosalie was meant to be a gymnast who was in an accident, putting her in a wheel chair. Peggy Sue was originally meant to try and stop the accident from becoming to help Rosalie. Although when the movie was edited, it left a loose end in the movie that was never explained, which is kind of a shame.

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Dion and the Belmonts is an American vocal group formed in the late 1950′s. The group consisted of Dion DiMucci, Carlo Mastrangelo, Freddie Milano, and Angelo D’Aleo.
Dion DiMucci is from an Italian-American family in the Bronx. He would gather local singers to sing and he also sang in local clubs. In early 1957, he auditioned for Bob and Gene Schwartz, from Mohawk Records. They recorded him with the Timberlanes and the single ‘The Chosen Few’ was released.

Left to right: Carlo Mastrangelo, Freddie Milano, Dion DiMucci, Angelo D'Aleo

It was a minor regional hit. The Belmonts was a group of doo-wop vocalists. They got their name from Belmont Avenue in the Bronx. The Belmonts first recorded with Mohawk Records, where singer Dion was also recording. Dion joined the group as lead singer and it was then known as ‘Dion and the Belmonts’ in 1957. The new group signed to Laurie Records and their first real breakthrough was from their single: ‘I Wonder Why’, and for the first time, they appeared on American Bandstand. Their success won them their first major tour in 1958. This tour was followed by ‘The Winter Dance Party’, with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. There was a special plane for the performers of The Winter Dance Party, but there was a fee of $36, and Dion couldn’t and wouldn’t pay it. After a first show in Clear Lake Iowa, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper headed to the airport and took their special plane to Fargo, North Dakota. Unfortunately, their plane crashed and all three singers, including the pilot, were killed. The tour still continued with replacements. In March 1959, a next single was released by Dion and the Belmonts. ‘A Teenager in Love‘ made #5 in the Billboard Hot 100 and #28 in the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by their first album, ‘Presenting Dion and the Belmonts‘ as well as their biggest hit, ‘Where or When‘, which was #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. In early 1960, Dion was administered to hospital for heroin addiction, apparently since his mid teens. He also had musical and financial disputes with the Belmonts. In October 1960, Dion quit and started a solo career. The Belmonts continued recording, but with less success. The group tried reuniting in 1966, but separated again when their album, ‘Together Again’, was unsuccessful. They sang together again in 1972, for a once-off show, which was recorded and released as a live album. In 2000, Dion and the Belmonts were integrated into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

In ‘Peggy Sue got Married‘, there are many references to Dion and the Belmonts. It shows actual footage of Dion and the Belmonts performing ‘A Teenager in Love’, while two characters watch part of the live show on television. There is also a girl saying “Wow! Charlie can really sing! (other girl) Yeah, Maybe he’s gonna be the next Dion and the Belmonts!”, and during that same scene, Charlie sings ‘I Wonder Why’ with his friends, reenacting almost the same performance that the actual group did.

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