Valley Girl

Everyone has a great list of cinematic guilty pleasures, and "Valley Girl" has been on mine from the first time I saw it. It was clear from the first "valley view" of the San Fernando that it was several cuts above your average teen-aimed movie. Obviously, Nicolas Cage was pretty impressive, even if I had no idea of his heritage or his future. I liked Deborah Foreman, too, and the supporting cast was well-chosen. If the plot was trifling, it was at least clever and certainly not pretentious. And the music, from the opening by Foremen and her friends to the closing shot of the limo ride to Modern English's "I Melt With You," is a big plus. Overall, an very entertaining take on love across the valley of cultural differences from Martha Coolidge, who is one of our most underrated directors.

I remember seeing this film when I was 13 years old and I fell in love with it and I was a big fan of the film and the characters I adored. My favorite character was Stacey (Heidi Holicker), because she made me laugh when she showed no interest in Fred (Cameron Dye) who really liked her and I was hoping that in the end that they would get together then her boring boyfriend, Ralphie (Christopher Murray)because he ignored her and hung out with his friends. I love the cast and the story. I always love the part when Fred try to get together with Stacey, and I always remember when he chased her around the car. But it was so good. I'll always remember cherish that in my teen years. Now that I am 33 years old and I picked up my copy on DVD and will look forward seeing it.

No joke, I struggled to tell the parent characters apart from the characters who were supposed to be teenagers. It's genuinely ridiculous. This is basically Romeo and Juliet with less stakes, worse writing, a banging 80s soundtrack, and an iconic young Nicolas Cage. The pros outweighed the cons for me, but only just, because it's pretty flawed in some areas, to be honest. Still, it's worth it for baby Cage and that music 👌 (Because like, seriously, how many movies contain both Sparks and Nicolas Cage? Worlds colliding in the best way possible)

Julie Richman (Deborah Foreman) is out at the mall with her friends Loryn (Elizabeth Daily), Stacey (Heidi Holicker) and Suzi (Michelle Meyrink). She breaks up with her boyfriend Tommy who later makes the moves on Loryn. Randy (Nicolas Cage) reluctantly follows Fred (Cameron Dye) to a party where he catches Julie's eye. Tommy gets jealous and throws out the two outsiders. Randy and Fred drive valley girls Julie and Stacey into the city. I love the specific moment in time with the kids serving sushi. This movie occupies an odd place. It's similar to some John Hughes movies but Martha Coolidge doesn't have the same midwest sensibilities. This has more edge but doesn't have the same charm. Cage shows his fascinating personality and Foreman is absolutely beautiful. I wish the boys brought Suzi instead of Stacey. Meyrink would have been more fun. Also it's got like bitchin' tunes.

Young, teenage angst. When valley girl Julie (Deborah Foreman) meets Randy ( a VERY young Nic Cage) from hollywood, they hit it off. But, of course, her friends don't approve. Of anything about him; his clothes, his hair, his friends. Can Randy convince Julie to follow her heart and not her friends? Runs like a John Hughes film, although his Sixteen Candles actually came out a year AFTER this, so maybe he got the idea from Valley Girl. Directed by Martha Coolidge. The best part of this film is the music featured - The Plimsouls, Josie Cotton, Bonnie Hayes, Sparks. And the first two we actually watch perform as part of the plot. This one is rated R, while Sixteen is PG...much more toned down. Some fun gags... Julie's overly permissive hippie parents. The driver's ed class. Cruising the hollywood strip. It's an oldie but a goodie.

First off, I LOVE this movie. I love the relationship between the characters played by Nick Cage and Deborah Foreman. I love that they come from completely different backgrounds. But concerning some of the comments regarding the music of the era.... There were two scenes at the time: New Wave and Punk. Punk was considered FAR more radical and a lot less mainstream than New Wave (like The Plimsouls, for example). While bands like The Ramones and Sex Pistols seem pretty sedate today, they weren't so back then, which is why I think that this movie went in the direction that it did music-wise. The clothes are spot on, obviously! This is one of my favorite movies because of the love story, and I never get tired of watching it.