Valley Girl (1983)

[EtheltoTillie]

Someone just posted that Clueless was one of the best teen movies, and I see there's no thread for Valley Girl, one of my faves.  It has Nicolas Cage before he became so over the top.  It's a funny story, good satire of Valley Speak from the time, satire of hippie parents, sweet romance too.  I just love this movie.  Anyone else love it? 

Edited March 30, 2022 by EtheltoTillie

[cpcathy]

I miss seeing this on TV every now and then. Cute movie, the main character actually has a personality, and her family life is sweet with her hippie parents. It’s so much more realistic than clueless, which almost seems like camp.

[VengefulScorpio]

Love this movie!!!

[Miss Anne Thrope]

Also a fan of Valley Girl.  Really good chemistry between Cage and Foreman, and sweet and funny without being exploitative (looking at you, just about every other 80s teen sex comedy).  Not to mention a great soundtrack. 

Julie's hippie parents (Frederic Forrest and Colleen Camp) were both in the Apocalypse Now scene where the Playmates are fooling around with some soldiers, so I think it's funny they're together again.  Did they fall in love at the mini-orgy? Was Julie conceived on the Playmates' Vietnam tour? 

 

 

[EtheltoTillie]

11 hours ago, cpcathy said:

I miss seeing this on TV every now and then. Cute movie, the main character actually has a personality, and her family life is sweet with her hippie parents. It’s so much more realistic than clueless, which almost seems like camp.

yes, I bought my own copy (digital) a while ago. 

9 hours ago, Miss Anne Thrope said:

Also a fan of Valley Girl.  Really good chemistry between Cage and Foreman, and sweet and funny without being exploitative (looking at you, just about every other 80s teen sex comedy).  Not to mention a great soundtrack. 

 

So true.  I tried rewatching Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and I could not bear it.  That's such a cult favorite.

[pancake bacon]

 

11 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Anyone else love it? 

 I ADORE this movie!

Similar to the posters said above, Valley Girl's brilliance is that it's a teen romantic comedy that's thoughtful, not demeaning to its female characters (I tried to phrase this in positive framing, but it was more clear to contrast the negative), fully-realized parents and yes, non-exploitative. (This, despite the boob exposure in the movie, which Martha Coolidge gave a lot of context for in the DVD extras.)

The movie made me a lifelong fan of Nicolas Cage, and my friends and I quote the movie all the time to give us random laughs. 

"Fred!" Stacy!"

"Oh bitchin'!… Is this in 3D?" "No, but your face is!"

And please pardon this cross post I initially shared on the Hollywood Nepotism page, but this story of how Nicolas Cage got cast that Martha Coolidge shared on the DVD commentary is priceless. 

Martha was sooo done reviewing head shot after head shot of the male leads the casting directors were recommending — all-too-typical teen idol types. "Give me someone who looks like this!" she says, and Nicolas Cage happened to the headshot on top of the pile.

So Nic comes in to read, and Martha loves him. But, Nic says, he's currently filming Rumble Fish with Francis Ford Coppola. Nic doesn't think he'll make the schedule.

"Francis?" says Martha. "Don't worry about him! I've worked with him before, and we're close. We're like family! I'll take care of it…"

Martha calls the Rumble Fish production office, and asks for a scheduling solution for a Nicolas Cage. "But there's no Nicolas Cage working here," says the production guy. They go back and forth on this. "Oh, do you mean Nicolas Coppola?" says the guy…

[EtheltoTillie]

16 minutes ago, pancake bacon said:

 

 I ADORE this movie!

Similar to the posters said above, Valley Girl's brilliance is that it's a teen romantic comedy that's thoughtful, not demeaning to its female characters (I tried to phrase this in positive framing, but it was more clear to contrast the negative), fully-realized parents and yes, non-exploitative. (This, despite the boob exposure in the movie, which Martha Coolidge gave a lot of context for in the DVD extras.)

The movie made me a lifelong fan of Nicolas Cage, and my friends and I quote the movie all the time to give us random laughs. 

"Fred!" Stacy!"

"Oh bitchin'!… Is this in 3D?" "No, but your face is!"

And please pardon this cross post I initially shared on the Hollywood Nepotism page, but this story of how Nicolas Cage got cast that Martha Coolidge shared on the DVD commentary is priceless. 

Martha was sooo done reviewing head shot after head shot of the male leads the casting directors were recommending — all-too-typical teen idol types. "Give me someone who looks like this!" she says, and Nicolas Cage happened to the headshot on top of the pile.

So Nic comes in to read, and Martha loves him. But, Nic says, he's currently filming Rumble Fish with Francis Ford Coppola. Nic doesn't think he'll make the schedule.

"Francis?" says Martha. "Don't worry about him! I've worked with him before, and we're close. We're like family! I'll take care of it…"

Martha calls the Rumble Fish production office, and asks for a scheduling solution for a Nicolas Cage. "But there's no Nicolas Cage working here," says the production guy. They go back and forth on this. "Oh, do you mean Nicolas Coppola?" says the guy…

Thanks for this great story.  I have a digital copy, but I think I will search for the DVD with extras.  I do enjoy extras/commentary. 

Same for me, that I can quote the movie and became a fan of Cage.   I have a plot quibble:  The boob exposure and the hookup between Loryn and Tommy is unpleasant/disloyal.  Will be curious to hear the explanation.

Also, I have always wondered about the unexplained surprise when Skip is biking up the hill to the house and you think he's going to meet Beth, who has been flirting with him.  Then they have the shower surprise.  Are we supposed to think he meant to go with Beth and ended up with Suzi and didn't care?  Or he meant to be with Suzi?  I wonder if the director comments on this.  Yeah, gotta find that DVD! 

Edited March 31, 2022 by EtheltoTillie

[EtheltoTillie]

Duh, why did I never notice the names were a play on Romeo and Juliet (Randy and Julie)? 

[Miss Anne Thrope]

On 3/31/2022 at 8:49 AM, EtheltoTillie said:

Same for me, that I can quote the movie and became a fan of Cage.   I have a plot quibble:  The boob exposure and the hookup between Loryn and Tommy is unpleasant/disloyal.  Will be curious to hear the explanation.

 

 

This is just my take -- I'm not claiming to speak for Ms Coolidge, nor have I watched any extras.  I thought the hookup was a little jarring, but not unusual based on my teen years.  Your friends aren't always good friends; and Tommy was sought after more as a status symbol than a good mate or a nice guy. He's kind of a tool, but one who ranks high in the social pecking order.  Loryn, knowing there might be an opening for a new girlfriend, goes for it and is duped by Tommy into thinking she could be his next objet d'amour. 

If assigning blame, it gets fuzzy.  Loryn is not a loyal friend to Julie, but she also knows Julie wants to move on with Randy.  So in her mind, she may not be betraying her friend.   As for Tommy, while getting dumped is humiliating, he's going to capitalize on the situation and mope about the breakup as long as it gets him the desired attention.  That would be girls lining up to comfort him and hopefully become the new queen of the high school social scene; I don't think he'd pick a new girlfriend terribly quickly as long as there is all that fruit on the tree waiting to be picked, so to speak.  (Is my complete disdain for Tommy showing? Plus, I may have given this way too much thought.) 

Anyway, just my opinion, mileage may vary, etc. 

Edited April 2, 2022 by Miss Anne Thrope

[EtheltoTillie]

I was able to get the DVD and listen to the director’s comments. Highly recommend!  She said all the scenes were highly rehearsed and choreographed. The actors were very professional even if not with a lot of experience. She explained the Skip Suzy Beth thing as a surprise just for fun, being misleading till the end. She said she was required by the producers to have four exposures of breasts. She pointed out there was a Romeo and Juliet reference (theater marquee).  There were two references to The Graduate. “Plastics” and the last scene riding away in the limo. Julie’s Jessica McClintock dress looked like a bridal gown. 

Whatever happened to Deborah Foreman?  She just gave up acting.  She was apparently very serious about her craft. EG Daily has been super successful as a voiceover actress in cartoons. By bizarre coincidence I caught her on the Kelly Clarkson show yesterday, as I never watch that show. She looks so different now. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 4/2/2022 at 5:08 AM, Miss Anne Thrope said:

 

This is just my take -- I'm not claiming to speak for Ms Coolidge, nor have I watched any extras.  I thought the hookup was a little jarring, but not unusual based on my teen years.  Your friends aren't always good friends; and Tommy was sought after more as a status symbol than a good mate or a nice guy. He's kind of a tool, but one who ranks high in the social pecking order.  Loryn, knowing there might be an opening for a new girlfriend, goes for it and is duped by Tommy into thinking she could be his next objet d'amour.

Yeah, Tommy clears up any idea Loryn might have had about being his next girlfriend right after they have sex, since she asks him if that means they're dating, and he's just like, "Uh.....no." In the present time, she probably would have gone straight to Julie and told her what happened, painting Tommy in an even worse light to get back at him, but back then it was more 'acceptable', I guess is the word.

[methodwriter85]

On 3/31/2022 at 8:49 AM, EtheltoTillie said:

Same for me, that I can quote the movie and became a fan of Cage.   I have a plot quibble:  The boob exposure and the hookup between Loryn and Tommy is unpleasant/disloyal.  Will be curious to hear the explanation.

They didn't have a choice. The people that funded the film (which was a pretty small budget to begin with) basically expected them to make Porky's, and they told her that female breasts had to be exposed at least 3 times. So that's the Tommy/Loryn hook-up, the Randy post break-up hook-up in the bar bathroom (that the actress who played Stacey was originally supposed to play), and Suzy's breasts being shown when she's showering behind the glass door. Martha tried to make it make sense to the story so it didn't feel too out of the left field. (It might have been 4, actually- I think there's another extra that takes her top off to have sex in the bathroom that Randy's waiting for Julie at during the party.)

Anyway, it's supposed to be unpleasant to watch- Martha basically told EG to get in the mindset of, "You've just been used and discarded" to get Loryn to cry. It's the clear signal that we really are not supposed to root for Tommy at all because of the way he treated Loryn.

Watching the remake, which failed at this miserably, just made me appreciate all the more that just how much character development there was in this. Every single character got a moment that explained their character motivations- even though Julie and Randy were the central romance, it did feel like the other characters were real people and not just plot devices to keep them apart.

[EtheltoTillie]

On 4/9/2022 at 12:28 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Watching the remake, which failed at this miserably, just made me appreciate all the more that just how much character development there was in this. Every single character got a moment that explained their character motivations- even though Julie and Randy were the central romance, it did feel like the other characters were real people and not just plot devices to keep them apart.

I've always felt this way about the movie, and listening to the commentaries just brought this home.  What a superprofessional production with a small budget.  Many people worked for free.  An amazing confluence of luck and talent.

[pancake bacon]

 

On 4/7/2022 at 8:30 AM, EtheltoTillie said:

I was able to get the DVD and listen to the director’s comments. Highly recommend!

Martha's commentary really made Valley Girl an all-timer for me. I still watch this movie at least once a year (but it's not once though, haha), and I stand up for it when great teenage movies AND great romcoms are discussed. Having a female director mattered for this movie, to work in the financial demands as contextual as possible to the overall movie. 

I love how the director explained how the backers were all, "Oh, you made a real movie!" after they saw it, and to their partial credit (as much as you can give when demanding breast exposure to make a quick box office buck!) decided to market Valley Girl, as indeed, a real movie. 

The dynamic of Loryn and Tommy displayed the conflicting and (thankfully) maturing outlook of a young woman who is excited by romance, attracted to the "power" (if you will) of being with the hot guy of the school, but slowly recognizing that her own worth to not let herself get totally carried away by it. All these in a few scenes of the movie! 

Yes, the female director was valuable with working on a script by two men (and one of them played Beth's date at the house party, helping to prepare the sushi in the kitchen, with peanut butter standing in as budget sea urchin!) 

[scorp01]

Valley Girl was one of my favorite movies growing up.  I absolutely coveted the lace shirt that Julie wore to the party where she first meets Randy, and all these years later I still keep an eye out for something similar (sadly have never found it though).

I checked out the trailer to the remake and it just looked...not good.  

[EtheltoTillie]

2 hours ago, scorp01 said:

Valley Girl was one of my favorite movies growing up.  I absolutely coveted the lace shirt that Julie wore to the party where she first meets Randy, and all these years later I still keep an eye out for something similar (sadly have never found it though).

I checked out the trailer to the remake and it just looked...not good.  

I tried watching the remake but didn't get very far.

[Bookish Jen]

I love this movie. One of my local channels showed it a while back and it totally holds up.

 

But there was a  remake? Yuck!

[methodwriter85]

On 4/12/2022 at 4:02 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

I tried watching the remake but didn't get very far.

I was willing to give it a shot when I read that they had genderflipped Fred into a lesbian, because I was like, "Oh, cool- I'd love to see the Fred and Stacey romance into a lesbian relationship that we could have never seen in 1983", but pretty much all it consisted of was the Female Fred and Chloe Bennett exchanging eyes at the end of the movie. Jessica Rothe tried really hard with this, but the experience of watching it reminded me yet again what a total hack Marti Noxon is.

The biggest problem with the remake is that they basically sacrificed any character development of the characters that weren't Julie and Randy. I also hated that they changed Julie's parents in Reagan-loving squares.