Directed By: Martha Coolidge
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily
Tag line: "Life in the Valley: Hair, clothes... and attitude"
Trivia: Director Martha Coolidge was required by the film's producers to show female breasts at least four times. They felt it would make the movie more appealing to younger males
There are a number of stereotypes that go hand-in-hand with “Valley Girls”, a term that originated in Southern California in the early 1980’s. The product of an upper middle-class environment, Valley Girls (or “Vals”, for short) were, in many cases, high school students who lived in the San Fernando Valley, spent most of their free time shopping at the Galleria mall, and had their own unique way of speaking, throwing words and phrases such as “like”, “you know”, “totally”, and “I’m sure” into practically every sentence. Frank Zappa even wrote a song about them (titled “Valley Girl”), which featured a running “Valleyspeak”-style monolog by his daughter Moon Unit.
Needless to say, Valley Girls were easy targets for ridicule (Zappa’s song is mostly comedic in nature). But surprisingly enough, director Martha Coolidge’s Valley Girl doesn’t poke fun at this exclusive class of young women. Instead, it’s a touching little teen film with likable characters, telling a romantic tale that’s sure to melt even the coldest heart.
Julie (Deborah Foreman) has just broken up with her boyfriend Tommy (Michael Bowen), and is ready for the next love of her life. To her surprise, she loses her heart not to one of her classmates, but a punk rocker from Hollywood named Randy (Nicolas Cage), who crashes a party hosted by her friend Suzi (Michelle Meyrink). Though they travel in very different circles, Julie and Randy fall head-over-heels for one another, and spend as much time together as they possibly can. Julie’s friends, Suzi, Loryn (Elizabeth Daily), and Stacey (Heidi Holicker), tell her to dump Randy (who isn’t “one of them”) and go back with Tommy. Faced with the very real possibility of being ostracized at school, Julie must decide what’s more important: her social standing, or the man she loves.
It’s a story as old as Shakespeare: two young people from opposite sides of the tracks meet and fall in love, only to be forced apart by those who claim to have their best interest in mind. Yet this time-honored plot device works well in Valley Girl because of its two leads. Though she occasionally seems as vapid as her friends, Foreman‘s Julie takes a chance when Randy enters the picture, and is rewarded with a relationship that may be the most important in her life. Despite pressure from her peers to toss Randy aside, Julie’s ex-hippie parents (played by Frederic Forrest and Colleen Camp) have taught her to be independent, and advise her to follow her heart. Stronger still is Nicolas Cage as Randy, whose tough exterior melts away whenever he’s with Julie. Valley Girl marked Nicolas Cage’s first lead role in a movie, and his patented quirkiness, coupled with a genuine chemistry between him and Foreman, ensured it would be a memorable debut.
Valley Girl does get a bit raunchy at times; there’s plenty of nudity scattered throughout, and s subplot involving Suzi and her stepmom Beth (Lee Purcell), who are both pursuing the same boy, has a fairly erotic payoff. Still, even with the skin and sex, Valley Girl, thanks to its interesting characters and poignant love story, has more in common with such ‘80s teen films as Pretty in Pink and Say Anything than it does Porky’s and The Last American Virgin.
