kz917-1 Oh me, oh my!The clothes, the hair, the swimwear!Nicolas Cage as a young buck attempting to romance a girl from the other side of the valley!Hysterical...for all the dated gems this movie contains.

robertlauter25 I remember reading a review by Roger Ebert who liked this movie as well as hearing other people who agreed. I think it was dreadful, I knew it was gonna be a high school romance flick, but unlike the successful hughes films like sixteen candles, pretty in pink and some kind of wonderful, or the raunchier ones like Porky's and fast times at ridgemont high, Valley Girl is boring, unfunny and poorly made. There's nothing original about the story or any of the characters, the production wallows in it's own low budget trappings, and man is the acting bad. What a dud. I've seen porn with more entertaining dialogue, how can this movie have entertained anyone.

tomgillespie2002 In the early 1980's the teen sex comedy was a prevalent genre, producing such "risque" works as Porky's (1982), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), and The Last American Virgin (1982) - naming just a few of the many varying qualities of film. Despite Porky's being a more juvenile, and therefore lesser entry, it was the fifth top grossing film of 1982 (even though Fast Times is superior). Basically what these teen movies required was parties, booze and tits. And whilst Valley Girl has all of the ingredients, it is a far more mature film than the antics of a Screwballs, Spring Break, or Private School (all 1983), whose narratives involve the pursuit of sex, in what ever droll form that may take. I'm not suggesting these films are awful - they have their qualities - but the level of drama or realism of character is sorely missing.Julie (Deborah Foreman), as the title highlights, is from the rich valleys of California. At a house party, she meets Randy (Nicolas Cage), who is a "punk" from the wrong side of the tracks (in this world Hollywood is that place). They hang out for a time and fall for each other. However, the pressures of rich, privileged life gets in the way, as the conformity of Julie's friends, suggests that she is required to get back with her previous, Jock boyfriend Tommy (Michael Bowen). In the high schools of the valley, the need to stay within the confines of your "class" is essential to keep your reputation in tact, and Randy does not fit in to the generic role of preppy boy.The film does itself conform to romantic comedy tropes, but this does not matter. As with later teen comedies (Clueless (1995) or Mean Girls (2004) for example), Valley Girl highlights, to the mostly teen audience, that it is important not to conform to your peers ideals, fashions and product consumption. Julie's parents are seen by her as lame of course (it's a teenage thing), but Randy sees differently, as they are hippies of the Woodstock age, running a pseudo-fashionable health food shop, their own non-conformist attitude evident, but never pushed onto the daughter. It's a charming little film, that treats its teenage characters with maturity, and they are never simple box-tickers like so many of these comedies of vacuous, shallow, and stereotypical consumer teenagers.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Chris Haskell To quote and slightly alter a song from Rancid: "Little Randy was a punk rocker. You know his girlfriend never understood him." What do you do when the perfect guy is from the wrong side of the tracks and doesn't talk or act like your friends? What a dilemma! This has a classic 80's plot, struggles, amount of nudity, and resolution. Watch this if you know what you're getting into and you'll enjoy it immensely. There is plenty wrong with this movie, but don't watch it with a critical eye, rather a nostalgic opportunity to see Nicolas Cage before he had his teeth worked on, an early Elizabeth Daily, and a young 'Buck' from Kill Bill. Rating 24/40