One of the many weird things about 1983's Valley Girl is that someone thought it made sense to capitalize on Frank and Moon Unit Zappa's "Valley Girl", which is apparently why this movie was green-lit. Deborah Foreman is sweet and cute as the eponymous character who goes for a young, free-spirited Nicolas Cage, but finds resistance in her group of friends and thinks of going back to her jerky old beau (Michael Bowen, who will have a long career playing creeps). Supplemented with a cool New Wave soundtrack that benefits for unusual choices (did 80s music get truly bad AFTER 1983?) and some amusing performances from the Valley Girl's parents, it's still a bit of a mess. It almost has something to say about peer "programming", but doesn't really (like, how is the "punk" Cage any less programmed by HIS environment?), and indulges in a "Stacey's Mom Has Got It Going On" subplot (no, really, how is this movie not the origin of that song?) that doesn't really go anywhere. And guys, we eventually need to have a conversation about the alternate reality presented in so many American films where High School Juniors and Seniors are overwhelmingly 18-year-olds.
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hawkeyevigo
CrapSiskoid
One of the many weird things about 1983's Valley Girl is that someone thought it made sense to capitalize on Frank and Moon Unit Zappa's "Valley Girl", which is apparently why this movie was green-lit. Deborah Foreman is sweet and cute as the eponymous character who goes for a young, free-spirited Nicolas Cage, but finds resistance in her group of friends and thinks of going back to her jerky old beau (Michael Bowen, who will have a long career playing creeps). Supplemented with a cool New Wave soundtrack that benefits for unusual choices (did 80s music get truly bad AFTER 1983?) and some amusing performances from the Valley Girl's parents, it's still a bit of a mess. It almost has something to say about peer "programming", but doesn't really (like, how is the "punk" Cage any less programmed by HIS environment?), and indulges in a "Stacey's Mom Has Got It Going On" subplot (no, really, how is this movie not the origin of that song?) that doesn't really go anywhere. And guys, we eventually need to have a conversation about the alternate reality presented in so many American films where High School Juniors and Seniors are overwhelmingly 18-year-olds.