Valley Girl

I was not expecting too much from the 1983 teen comedy/drama ‘Valley Girl'. But to my surprise, I got a very intelligent movie that does many things that are not in your usual teen movie. Sure we have seen some big teen films, like American Graffiti, Ferris Bueller's Day Off , Mischief, Girls just wanna have fun and in recent times The ‘American Pie' Series, but Valley Girl is right up there as a very good teen film, with a cool soundtrack and a cast that really amazed me.

The strangest people fall in love and when these two opposites met, the fun just started when they tried to break down the barriers! This movie combines Hollywood punk with Valley conservative, ageing hippies with high school proms and generally shows that being a teenager CAN be outrageous fun!

The direction of ‘Valley Girl' is an area that I find to be very good indeed. It was directed in a way where you got the feeling no-one, on or off set had to be rushed, which I believe made the movie a very easy to follow. The other great aspect of the direction is that it was done extremely well by Martha Coolidge, a woman who knew exactly what she wanted to show onscreen and show it is what she did. If more directors, male and female could capture what Coolidge did with this film, more films would be much better.

The screenwriters for ‘Valley Girl' were Wayne Crawford and Andrew Lane, who did a great job in bringing out the teenage issues in the film, but did not make the mistake of basing the film totally around sex, which is what most teen films think they need to be. Instead we get a better insight into who these young people actually are. The other interesting aspect of Valley Girl is the way that the movie seems to allow itself to contain very intelligent and interesting dialogue, which for me is another highlight. I also enjoyed the characters created for the film. We get to see the hot shots of LA, the young impressionable chicks and the cool guys, who are not sleazy, but very very likeable. All in all, this story is going to stay with me for along time to come.

This leads me to the cast of the film, which was very good. Randy (A very young Nicholas Cage), by looking at him, seems just like another teenage smartass. However looks can be deceiving and Randy shows himself to be a really nice guy. The other part I like about Randy is the confident manner he has, with him stating at one stage of the movie, ‘I like the girl and she likes me, I am gunna have her'. Now that might sound like arrogance, but that is not the case, it just the cool, confident kind of guy Randy is. Nicholas Cage sure showed in this movie that he was a star of the future. Randy also has a very good friend in Fred (Cameron Dye), who stands by him many times.

The girl Randy is after is the beautiful Julie Richman (Deborah Foreman), someone who has just broken up with a real creep, Tommy (Michael Bowen), who unfortunately has not accepted it yet. Then when Julie and Randy meet at a party there is an instant attraction. Julie is a very naïve young girl, but you feel for her plight in the movie, as I know I certainly wanted her to be happy.

There are many good supporting cast members in Valley Girl. Julie's friends include Loryn (Elizabeth Daily), Stacey (Heidi Holicker), Suzie (Michelle Meyrink) and Samantha (Tina Theberge). In fact there are many moments with these girls that are great highlights of the film, including a scene that shows Julie going for her license, while three of these girls totally distracting her in the backseat, more interested in Julie's relationships status then getting her license.

The other highlight of the cast has to Julie's parents, Sarah Richman (Colleen Camp) and Steve Richman (Frederic Forrest). Of course they are like any teenage parents, concerned for their daughter's well-being and life. But the real highlight here is Julie's dad, Steve, who gives his daughter some good advice, when it comes to Julie choosing who she really wants to be with. Steve states to her ‘It's what you are that counts, what's inside you, what you stand for. Not what other people wanna make you'. Both Colleen and Frederic were a part of the brilliant 1979 war film ‘Apocalypse Now'.

The music of Valley Girl was a true delight to hear, as it made the film very fun and exuberant. The composers for the film were Scott Wilk and Marc Levinthal, who certainly did their bit to help make this movie seem all the more ‘memorable'. The songs I like from the soundtrack include Melt with you (Modern English), Who can it be now (Men At work) and Girls Like me (Bonnie Hayes with the wild combo).

If there were more teen movies like Valley Girl, than I would certainly be a very happy movie watcher of this genre. Valley Girl is a movie that has the courage to show how difficult life is for teenagers in general, and is not just interested in showing the issues concerning the bedroom. Although the conclusion of the film has some enjoyable aspects, it was a bit of let down for me, as I would have preferred it finish on a different and better moment. Finally, I have never seen a cover to a video quite like the one for this movie, showing a ‘Glossary of Valley Girl talk'. But I am not going to tell you any of it, you can learn about that for yourself.

CMRS give ‘Valley Girl': 4 (Very Good Film)

I was born a year after this movie came out, so I couldn't relate to it right when it came out.

I just recently saw Valley Girl a few days ago on the WE channel. I thought it was an interesting movie... Many people say the slang is outdated, but I don't know how many times I've heard someone say that something was "rad" or "awesome" or if someone was "getting laid."

Sure, the characters are vapid and shallow. They're like, from the valley, like, you know? I loved the characters of Fred and Randy, especially. I know many boys that have the attitude Fred has.

Nicholas Cage was SUPERB as Randy. I just wish there were more guys like that character: a rough-and-tumble punk with a dopey grin.

I've got to say, any movie that makes me giggle from the style and makes even Nicholas Cage adorable (Keep in mind that I come from his "action movie only era") rocks.

This movie is one of my all time favorite movies and is what made me a lifelong Nicolas Cage fan. Back in the mid-80's I taped this movie (when VCR's were impossible to do this with!!) and would watch it over and over. Nicolas Cage is just brilliant here. And, he looks wonderful and has no affecting "acting-isms" (see "Peggy Sue Got Married" to know what I mean about that!!). I measure all his performances against this one. He was so perfectly cast as the cool punk guy with the edgy friends. The music was GREAT. The Plimsouls! The Psychodelic Furs! Modern English! Men At Work! Whenever I hear "Melt With You" I am taken back to the finale of this movie.

What ever happened to his cute costar, Deborah Foreman? And his hysterical friend, Cameron Dye? Certainly took a different turn than Nicolas! Interestingly, the slutty friend (Elizabeth Daily) ended up being the voice of Tommy from the Rugrats (she is billed as E.G. Daily for that horrid show)! Bizarre!

IF you want to take a great trip back to the 80's, watch this movie. It is definitely a classic. Like Totally!

The first time I saw Valley Girl, I was bedridden and as sick as a dog, out of junior high school for two weeks with a nasty illness. I watched it on a tiny black and white set with the volume turned down to a whisper so my parents wouldn't hear and make me shut it off. I was mesmerized. It was a revelation. Martha Coolidge's milking of the Romeo and Juliet premise (with Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman filling in as star-crossed lovers in the San Fernando Valley) was smart and convincing. I was amazed by the hot "Val" chicks. I was thrilled by the interesting vocabulary words. I wanted to be like Cage's tough Randy and fall in love with a beautiful girl like Foreman's Julie to the sounds of Eddie Grant, Modern English, and The Plimsouls.

It was 1983 and I was 13. I watched Valley Girl on HBO one night when my parents were working. After it ended I wanted to talk with someone about it immediately. Turns out my best friend watched it too and it became our favorite movie. Every weekend after that we watched it until we could recite it. We woke her parents up late at night laughing hysterically. We began to worship the main character, Julie, played by the beautiful Deborah Foreman. I am not saying this is a great classic. Although it is for me personally. And I understand that the whole Valley Girl talk becomes annoying but that was the 80's. But deep down at the heart of the movie-it is a love story, and a familiar but good one. Girl meets boy and there are sparks from both sides, an instant connection. Julie's friends don't like him-he doesn't fit in, doesn't go to their school, doesn't have money. They like her better with her ex-boyfriend the football player even though he is a jerk. She makes the ultimate sacrifice-her own happiness for her friends' happiness. And she has these really cool supportive hippie parents. It is one of Nicholas Cage's first movies and his first starring role. One minute he is absolutely hilarious and the next incredibly touching and romantic. His friend Fred is pretty funny too. If you were a teenager in the 80's you will love this movie or at the very least it will bring back memories. It is no longer my favorite movie but it is still one of my favorites, probably in my top 10. I am eagerly awaiting it's release on DVD if they ever release it. You can go to Deborah Foreman's website to sign a petition to get it released on DVD and there are 2 soundtracks from the movie that are must haves if you like 80's music.