Valley Girl (1983)

Directed by Martha Coolidge. Starring Deborah Foreman, Nicolas Cage, Heidi Holicker, Elizabeth Daily, Michael Bowen, Frederic Forrest, Cameron Dye, Colleen Camp, Michelle Meyrink, David Ensor, Lee Purcell, Tina Theberge. [R]

Flaky, shallow, but affable teen comedy with a couple of young star-crossed lovers—superficial Valley girl Foreman and Hollywood punk rebel Cage—but can their love withstand social pressures to “stick with their own”? Foreman is sometimes stiff but Cage demonstrates kernels of irreverent star power; among the supporting cast, only Forrest and Camp as the val-gal’s loopy, refreshingly-tolerant parents are noteworthy. Amusing in fits and starts, but the movie rarely gets out of first gear, and would have been better off focusing more time on the lead duo’s giddy romance instead of anemic sub-plots that go nowhere, such as the flirtation between hot-to-trot mom Purcell and the boy her stepdaughter has the hots for. Best remembered today for its San Fernando subcultural slang, which wears out its welcome after a while, and its eclectic 80s pop/new wave soundtrack, which never does. The Plimsouls and Josie Cotton make appearances performing their own tunes.

58/100