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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cage: The ultimate rebel, December 11, 1998
By A Customer
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.
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~ Various Artists - Soundtracks - 1983
DVD ~ Lawrence Monoson
DVD ~ Sean Penn
DVD ~ Patrick Dempsey
DVD ~ Molly Ringwald
~ Various Artists - Soundtracks - 1983
