I recently rewatched Chalet Girl (CG), a typical “formulaic teen rom-com” (Schembri, 2011) and was pleasantly surprised by the discourse on class and the ‘Ski Season’ subfield that runs throughout, in the context of the UK field.
Synopsis Kim, an ex-skateboard champion, is dealing with losing her mother, working at a fast-food chain to support her and her unemployed father. Kim hears of a job that pays triple her current minimum wage job, "serving Champagne and tiny food for toffs" (CG, 2011, 3:44). Otherwise known as, a 'Chalet girl'. Kim turns up at the interview next to a row of posh girls, whose names all end in "-ella”. Kim sticks out like a sore thumb because of her class and the way she dresses, this is manifested in the way she says "Kim" (CG, 2011, 4:18) in her audible Southeast London accent that juxtaposes the accents of the other applicants.
Despite Kim's experience “of actual work”, Kim realises that she's just "not the right kind of girl" (Chalet Girl, 2011, 5:02), directly addressing the elephant in the room - she’s not from the same world. However, Kim is hired and meets her co-worker, the stereotypical 'posh totty' Georgie, who is appalled by Kim's appearance and that she's never skied before. Kim finds it difficult to settle in with the other resort workers and the obscenely wealthy family whom she works for. She ends up learning to snowboard, very well, with the help of Mikki. Johnny, the son of the family she works for, eventually takes a liking to Kim….
The Clash of Class
Georgie is horrified at Kim for not having skied before, as if it's something that everyone does (well, in Georgie's world, it is). The sentence "she doesn't even ski" is repeated throughout the first half of the film and becomes a euphemism for "she's not like us". This is effective at distinguishing differences in class between Kim and the others. Georgie distinguishes herself from Kim as a middle/upper-class girl, thus confirming her place within that class according to Bourdieu's theory on class distinction (1986). It’s even revealed later that Georgie called Kim a "chav" behind her back, a slur for the working-class. One of the more tragic scenes is when Kim incorrectly opens a bottle of Dom Perignon (a £500 bottle of champagne), giving herself a nosebleed. This distinguishes Kim as someone who 'does not belong' in this world of wealth.
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em Kim’s resistance to assimilate is cut short by the expectations of her employers to ‘dress up’. Johnny only acknowledges Kim's existence once she puts Georgie's make-up and accessories on, he states "and like that she became a swan". This is sexist of course, but it also shows that Kim is assimilating to Georgie slightly here, by looking refined and wearing pearls to pour a 1962 Dom Perignon for the elite. Some critics have drawn parallels with the iconic Pretty Woman (1990) plotline of the ‘swanning’ of the female protagonist (Schembri, 2011).
Snowboarding vs. Skiing
In the film, skiing is shown as a sport for the elite in terms of the English characters - Georgie and her posh friends all ski and Johnny's family. However, snowboarding seems to be portrayed as a more 'universal' sport, one that anyone can pick up - including our protagonist, Kim. Of course, Kim's skateboarding background helps her pick up the sport, and she's deemed a 'natural' by Mikki. It is interesting that the snowboarding is reserved for non-wealthy characters (we aren’t told about Mikki's background) and the skiing is reserved for the overtly wealthy. Even when Johnny decides he wants to learn to snowboard, he cannot do it, despite being a very confident skier. I like that this distinction is made, as it perhaps alludes to a wider discussion on sports and class.
Conclusion
This film received mixed reviews from critics, some calling it “amiable, silly feelgood stuff” (Bradshaw, 2011) and others deeming it “banal, witless, slushy, laboured and dull” (Ross, 2011). However, I believe it is more than a Romcom, as it explores the role of the 'Ski Season' in a UK based class discourse. There are some clear parallels here with my own research on the 'Gap Year' as a marker of class. Perhaps the Ski Season Chalet Girl is also a marker of class.
Bibliography
Bourdieu. P. 1986. The Forms of Capital. [Online]. Available at https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/bourdieu-forms-capital.htm [Accessed: 5 January 2022].
Bradshaw, P. 2011. Chalet Girl - Review. [Online]. The Guardian 17 March. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/mar/17/chalet-girl-review. [Accessed: 5 January 2022].
Chalet Girl. 2011. [Film]. Phill Trails. Dir. UK, Austria: Paramount Pictures. Available at: https://www.netflix.com/search?q=chalet%20girl [Accessed: 5 January 2022].
Pretty Woman. 1990. [Film]. Garry Marshall. Dir. USA: Touchstone Pictures. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=pretty+woman&i=instant-video&crid=Q587SSKOHCPX&sprefix=pretty+woman%2Cinstant-video%2C70&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 [Accessed: 5 January 2022].
Ross, D. 2011. Downhill all the way. [Online]. The Spectator 19 March. Available at: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/downhill-all-the-way-19-march-2011 [Accessed: 5 January 2022].
Schembri, J. 2011. Chalet Girl. [Online]. The Age Australia 2 September. Available at: https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/chalet-girl-20110902-1jpxd.html [Accessed: 5 January 2022].
Visual Bibliography
IMDb. No date. Chalet Girl. [Image]. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1487118/ [Accessed 5 January 2022].
Rotten Tomatoes. No date. Chalet Girl Pictures. [Image]. Available at: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/chalet_girl/pictures [Accessed 5 January 2022].
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