Is it me, or is Gary really creepy?

Just watched this for the first time in many years...I was 12 in 1982, so I wasn't far off in age from these characters. I actually did see this in the mid-80s, and though I could definitely relate to it (I remember people like the Ricks and Davids and Garys and Karens very well), some of the nuances and subtleties were lost on me at the time.

The thing about Gary that I think is being missed here is that, at his age, there's a tendency to fall in love with ideals and images, rather than with real people. He is not really in love with Karen; he is in love with the idea of what he thinks Karen represents. Starting with her 80s beauty (complete with mad eyebrows), he has concocted a "Karen" in his mind that isn't really based on who the real Karen is. Like many of you have pointed out, he doesn't really know her that well, but due to the Karen he has created in his mind, he thinks he does. His "love" for her had much more to do with what Karen represents to him than who Karen actually is to him. Part of this fantasy in his head was him thinking riding on his white horse to save the day was going to win him the girl, and that they'd just live happily ever after. I don't think he was creepy as much as he was just young and falling prey to youthful mistakes, and learning the hard way that life doesn't always dole out happy Hollywood endings.

As for Karen, there will always be people of BOTH sexes who think he or she will be the one to get past the hard exterior of the male and female Ricks of the world, and think that there's some prize that awaits them for going through such hells. It takes time and experience and getting hurt multiple times to realize that some people simply don't have treasures waiting to be discovered and aren't hiding hearts of gold. Sometimes, underneath it all, some people simply aren't nice or wholesome and never will be.

Though this movie is low budget and not full of great acting, what it does capture well is adolescent mistakes and moments of truth. Gary may be stung initially, but he will learn that Karen is simply not all he made her out to be, and that love can't be bought or built on fantasies. The funny thing is, had Karen chose Gary, after the initial euphoria of having won her would've worn off, I think Gary would've been disappointed in time...he would've seen that the real Karen would not have measured up to the Karen he put up on his dream pedestal.

As for Karen, she will learn the hard way that the challenge of trying to get to Rick's sweeter spots (which probably don't exist) will end up in endless heartache for her. The Ricks who have everything come easily to them usually have to get knocked down hard before they even think of changing themselves and realizing that they are capable of hurting the people foolish enough to care about them. Who knows if and when that ever happens to Rick.

But the ending is very believable...the nicer guy often loses, and humilatingly at that, and the jerk appears to "win", at least for the moment.