Customer Reviews

Valley Girl [VHS]

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I had this movie on vhs for years and must have watched it a million times as it's just that kind of film I like to watch over and over and never get tired of.
Then, the day after my birthday last summer, it came out on dvd. It seemed like perfect timing..I thought for sure I'd get it as a gift. I didn't. I did get a late Christmas present from my husband a few days ago, and this was it.
It is the most romantic gift he gave me next to the sparkly diamond stud earrings. I think this movie belongs in the class.
Why? Well, first off, I am 34 yrs old, which make this movie one of many of my generation. It brings me back to those glory days of 1980's high school.
"Valley Girl" is a romantic comedy/drama, that has so much heart and such a clear and simple message of it's what inside that counts. Frederick Forrest, who plays the father to Julie, who is played by Deborah Foreman, and is Valley Girl extradionare, delivers some of the best lines of the movie in the scene where he talks to her about what really matters in life.
This is a very 80's version of Romeo & Juliet instead it's Randy & Julie. Randy, who is played by a very young Nicholas Cage, is the punker dude type that Julie falls in love with. Their's is a typical teenage romance with phony friends and a jilted ex boyfriend trying to tear it all to pieces.
"Valley Girl" has a bittersweet quality to it. I always cry when I watch it, and my heart swells up like a balloon. It sounds corny, but it's true. I still adore it after all these years.
The dvd had some good extras, I'm still checking some out, can't comment on all of them. One really good bit of trivia I learned is that Michael Bowen, who played Tommy, the Valley dude boyfriend of Julie, has appeared in a few Quention Tarentino films. It seems QT is a fan of this small, indy film..Gee, I wonder why? It's totally cool to know that now. I am only sad that Deb Foreman is not among the stars that came back after 20 years to be interviewed for this special edition disc.

I highly recommend this to fans of 80's films, or even just films about the 80's, or fans of love stories...Oh to heck with it, all movie fans will find something to appreciate in the movie "Valley Girl". My husband did.

Eileen F.

Most comments concerning this film seem to concentrate on the simple plot, lite storyline, etc. I believe this film is a winner because of the way Nicholas Cage renders wrong-side-of-the-tracks punk god Randy. Really, we're almost talking about two different movies when we look at Cage's scenes and the scenes in which he's absent. The Cage-less scenes deliver somewhat predictable bopper-movie fare. When Cage appears onscreen, however, we observe a genuine rebel who is not afraid to admit to his best pal that his life has no meaning without Valley Girl Julie in it.

Cage owns this film as he struts before the camera in black leather and chains, bronzed bangs whipping in the Valley breeze. He will not rest until he gets the girl.

Memorable scenes in which Cage takes charge:

1. The party crashing scene. Cage and sidekick Fred (Cameron Dye, where have you gone?) electrify the Valley crowd as they infiltrate in search of hot girls. Cage finds his and the story takes off.

2. Scene in the gritty Hollywood bar, in which Cage simply tells Julie he must see her again. The Plimsouls are on stage and life is grand.

3. Vignette in which Cage and Julie get to know each other. Sure, a tad cheesy, but this vignette, powered by "I Melt With You," set the standard for such cheese.

4. Cage admitting to Fred that he's miserable without Julie. Cage blowing his frustrations out through a toy kazoo (or is it a Pez dispenser) anchors this scene and makes it believable.

4. Prom night, of course. Cage and Fred have a plan to get Julie back. Will it work? "Let's...squash...that...fly"

Best lines in the movie:

Julie speaking to other Valley girls of the reasons she's thinking of dumping Tommy-the-tow-headed-surfer-dude:

"He makes me feel like...AN OLD CHAIR" (spoken with much Valley Girl intensity.

Tommy, speaking to his cronies after Julie has dumped him for the first time. (this is a bit of a paraphrase).

"I can't believe she dumped me. Who else is she going to get? WHAT OTHER VAL DUDE CAN TOUCH ME?"

**************************************

In sum, I believe this to be Cage's best performance ever. How surprising that it's his first. Too bad he never did anything like this again.

I just rented this movie for the first time this weekend and I watched it four times. I was a kid when this came out, but I've heard about it over the years. Since they're closing the Sherman Oaks Mall & that was where I'd heard this took place, I succumbed and decided to check it out. Yes, some of the acting is bad (Julie's Val boyfriend) and the directing was sloppy (the teacher in the purple dress was seemingly simultaneously dancing and standing by the punch bowl at the prom), but I probably noticed most of it because I watched it 4 times in 3 days.

One of the best parts was when Julie dumped her Hollywood dude and he yelled an obscenity I'm guessing Amazon.com won't let me type followed by "Like, totally fer sure" in that Valley lingo we all know and love. And Nicholas Cage was so young he was cute! Fred's Pepe Le Pew imitation in the hills was hilarious. And the end...well, you'll just have to watch it!

Please re-release this - I would buy it in a second!

PS - Why don't they use the original lead actress on the cover? She was great & it looks like the cover is newer than the movie...(legwarmers?)

This is the ultimate love story- and chalk full of teen angst. The soundtrack alone is enough to make anyone who was a teen in the 80's love it. On top of the music you get classic lines, great clothes, Nicholas Cage and Deborah Foreman at their best, a Mrs. Robinson storyline, the utlimate hippie parents, and an all-time prom scene. Like Julie's dad says- "Things were different back then. Different priorities. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll." (not sure that's an exact quote, but it's close). This movie is way too hard to get a hold of. My copy of a copy is not going to make it much longer. This movie must be made on DVD, so I can force my son to watch it when the time comes. What better way to experience the 80's!

This was Nic's first starring role under his screen name Nicolas Cage & let me tell you, he was hot in this film (despite not being rich enough yet to get his teeth capped)! He falls for the lovely, adorable & innocent Julie (Deborah Foreman, who, if any of you grew up in the '80's & stole your older sister's teen mags, you remember her in the Shine-Free ads for Maybelline). Deborah Foreman proves that some models (yes...gasp...it's true) can actually act extremely well in movies.

The film is very gutsy. It's stars mainly a bunch of unknowns & they all do a great job & it was shot in a mere 22 days (the budget was so low that director Martha Coolidge had the cast provide their own wardrobes).

A lot of people call the film a modern-day version of Romeo & Juliet & a lot of people have asked if the R in Randy & J in Julie was intentional as well as Randy & Julie standing under a sign of a movie theater that reads Romeo and Juliet. On the DVD commentary, Coolidge answers yes.

Julie's parents are the most unique & hysterical ones you'll find in this genre. One of my favorite parts is when the father is so nervous about his daughter going to her prom that he ducks into the bathroom to smoke a funny cigarette. "Steve, where are you?! his wife asks. "I'll be right there!" he calls from the bathroom. "I'm looking for the camera!" Another great moment is when Julie comes home in the morning from going out with Randy & the parents kindheartedly advise her to protect herself & she freaks out. "Just 'cause we were out all night doesn't mean I did anything!"

Yeah, the plot isn't very original: The boy from the wrong tracks falls in love with the popular girl & her friends give her crap, but the film is so much fun, it doesn't really matter.

The film has a certain kind of innocence that we don't see in today's teen flicks. Julie & Randy just have fun being with each other, walking hand in hand, and talking and laughing. The topic of sex never comes up in the film between the two of them (or if it does, they're in no hurry). It's only brought up by one of Julie's best friends & Julie replies "It hasn't gotten that far yet." Any time she's about to go inside after one of their dates, they continue talking & laughing & kissing & then she closes the door & then, suddenly, opens it again it the whole
process begins again. Ah, makes me miss those times when I was a teenager in love.

The DVD features are excellent. The woman that played Suzie's stepmom hasn't aged a bit. How sickening! It must be nice to be her. Elizabeth Daily (Lauren) has gotten so much plastic surgery, she's hardly recognizable. I thought she was fine the way she was. I'll stop there. I don't want to spoil the DVD for ya.

I've never really cared for in the film's open ending. What's gonna happen with Julie & her friends? Is Tommy going to keep giving her hell? I also think both of the soundtracks could've been better. While they have a lot of great songs on them, poppy songs from The Flirts and, especially, Josie Cotten just grate on my nerves. Inspite of this, who could forget the film's theme song by Modern English "I Melt with You" that'll leave you humming the tune & feeling like you're on cloud nine long after the film's over.

Despite the complaint from another viewer (above) that this DVD falls short of being the luxury edition the film deserves, I was thrilled to come across "Valley Girl" on DVD. I'd previously only seen this movie on an ex-rental VHS tape, circa early 1980s, because "Valley Girl" appears never to have been re-issued on VHS in Australia. As well as being an obvious improvement on the VHS version in technical terms, the DVD has the added attraction of Martha Coolidge's audio commentary.
Her commentary on this DVD is considerably superior to that of Amy Heckerling and Cameron Crowe on the DVD of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", which I found overly casual and less informative (sorry Amy, I still love your films). Although I'd seen "Valley Girl" many times, Coolidge's commentary gave me a lot more insight into the film. She communicates at a level that the general public can understand, but doesn't neglect to discuss technical and business factors that importantly influenced the end product. Coolidge's commentary on "Valley Girl" is collected, engaging, detailed and very informative. The insight she provides into matters such as the work put into the film's colour scheme, the organisation of the brilliant party scene and the way budgetary constraints determined some aspects of the film is exemplary. Although this film is without doubt an icon of 1980s popular culture, it's also a remarkable accomplishment in filmmaking more generally: a movie that derives its premise from exploitation film but emerges as a more appealing and ideologically sound piece of youth entertainment than anyone expected of teen movies in that era.

Modern day Romeo & Juliet cliche plot boy from the wrong side of the tracks falls for the preppy girl who's friends don't approve. But it's done with such style and a different twist in this 80's classic. Nic Cage's 1st major role as Randy a punk rocker from West Hollywood whos falls head over heels for a preppy valley girl Julie from Southern Cali. I was basically obsessed with Nic Cage's character ( Randy) in this movie for a while being into the punk scene. Everything about this film is so defining of the 80's when he brings her to the punk club and The Plimsouls are playing " A Million Miles Away" and he looks at her and says real quick when can I see you again and then turns his head quick back away. You can just see right there how much he was into her. At the end is amazing when there at the prom and Randy & Fred his best friend crash the prom when "Johnny are you queer" by Josie Cotton is playing and Randy & Julie hop in the limo and ride of into the night Modern English's classic " Melt with you" comes on. Did I mention what a great soundtrack this movie has every song is perfect for the scenes. One of the best 80's films of all time and & in my top 5 favorite movies of all time. Essential to collection for anyone who grew up in the 80's cinema. Story of opposites attracting and following there own path together regardless of what other people think. I own the special edition DVD and a must see movie.

This movie is a GREAT 80's film. I saw it on HBO the other week, and went and ordered the film. As for MGM, they usually transfer films from the 80s great. They transfered the picture great again with valley girl, HOWEVER, whoever remastered the music in Dolby 5.1 Surround put the music to low, and ruined the way the movie was meant to be shown. However, if u goto Features and change the Sound to English Mono, It plays normal and can watch the movie like it was meant to be seen, to bad without stereo, but hey, sometimes u cant always have what u want. If it wasnt for the sound the movie would get 5 stars. It got 2 just because of the sound transfer. Shame on you MGM! MGM should exchange these discs with fixed copies, like Universal is doing with Back to the Future(WIDESCREEN).

Valley Girl is a classic, and it's nice to see it in widescreen. The print for the most part looks great. But the production value of the extras and packaging was apparently an afterthought. It took 20 years to make it on DVD and it looks like it was slapped together in a week. Way to go MGM!

The cover, for starters should be sexy and fun and feature Deborah Foreman and Cage, not that unknown woman they used for the original poster. A film still maybe of a great scene? Anyway, it looks like a bootleg. The extras include a painfully titled Valley Girl --Twenty Totally Tubular Years Later, and features interviews with the most of the cast, including, surprisingly, Nic Cage. Except that Deborah Foreman is nowhere in the interviews! No, really. (They even interviewed Stacy.) Huh?

Hardcore fans are sure to be disappointed in the final product but seek solace in being able to find their favorite scene with ease. But how to choose just one?

The best we can hope for is that Valley Girl will find a new legion of young fans. As for MGM, it's really hopeless guys. So painfully out of touch, and this DVD is further proof.

The underrated `80s teen film "Valley Girl" based on Frank Zappa's Novelty Song of the same title, popularized the image of the "Valley girl". A Valley Girl usually referred to girls from The San Fernando Valley in California. This type of girl usually dressed in preppy colorful clothes, had their own slang terms, cared about their social status, and were always seen at the Galleria. In 1983 Valley Girl, the movie was released, and became a cult status film, depicting the Valley Girl lifestyle. The movie stars Deborah Foreman, as Julie Richman, a valley girl , and Nicolas Cage as Randy, a young punk from Hollywood. After dumping her val boyfriend, Julie attends one of her friends parties and ends up meeting Randy, even though they are from 2 different worlds, these two show that opposites do attract and instantly become an item. Julies parents parents are cool with their relationship, her friends aren't, and pressure Julie into dumping him, so she can get back with her Ex, leaving Julie to decide who she should choose, her popularity or true love. This film is not only great, but has an incredible soundtrack. Watch for musical appearances by The Plimsouls, and Josie Cotton in this film as well.