I first watched this film in 'The Kelburn' in Paisley. Gregory's Girl wasn't acting; Gregory's Girls was real life. I laughed so hard I was almost ill. We were very proud of this film in Central Scotland. Up until this point, Scotland had produced very few films that displayed us as normal, ordinary people, without stereotype image of heather, kilts shortbread, whisky and Orange Walks. Everyone in the central belt of Scotland seemed to know someone in the film.
Graham Thompson, who played Charlie, played in a local punk rock band and announced that he would not be at band practice the following week as he was 'making a film.' The band laughed at him. The film still has the same effect on me 25 years later.
My sister in Canada watched it on TV out there with voices dubbed into American accents - sacrilege! I later learned that it cost more to pay American accents to dub the voices, than it did to make the original film in Scotland. My uncle in Australia watched in a cinema in Melbourne and said that he stood up and cheered at the end.
Barry Norman once said that this was one of his favourite films of all time.