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)
