David O'ConnellValley Girl
December 7th 2010 03:40
Martha Coolidge’s Valley Girl (1983) had never crossed my radar before. Had I been on the outer, negligently ignoring it, or dodging a bullet all these years? Time to uncover the truth then, to time-travel back to a place where teenage parties consisted of boys adorned in polo shirts of the pastel persuasion – many with their collars turned up – and girls pondering which of the guys are the most “bitchin,” intermingling to the strains of forgotten anthems like Eddy Grant’s Electric Avenue. This was a weird place, I would soon discover, a place to disremember for fear of an attack of fatal nostalgia perhaps or fear of that fleeting glimpse of a geek left lamenting in a corner who reminded me of somebody a little too close to my heart.
A frighteningly young Nicolas Cage stars as Randy, a hood from Hollywood High who dares to venture into the San Fernando Valley where its privileged stuck-up teens exist on an exalted plain. It's here that he gatecrashes a party and makes eyes with blonde beauty Julie (Deborah Foreman). Luckily Julie’s just dumped her boring boyfriend Tommy (Michael Bowen) but when she falls head-over-heels for bad boy Randy, whose passion instantly sets her alight, the whip of disapproval comes down hard upon her from all sides, especially her phony friends to whom appearances mean everything. They immediately assume Julie has gone loopy and insist she patches things up with the admittedly bland but safe Tommy.
This is a film about learning to put aside those misleading appearances, to bend the rules of expectation placed by cliques and peers and follow the passionate, untainted yearnings of your heart. Valley Girl’s messages may be meaningful, if simplistic ones, but the film itself is trapped in a time warp from which there is no escape. It has generally aged poorly (as has much of Coolidge’s output, it’s worth noting), from its constant steam of eclectic, New Wave/indie pop soundtrack curios to its painfully outmoded portrayal of fashion and style.
Nic Cage at 19
If for no other reason, drag out the corpse of Valley Girl just to witness a barely post-pubescent Nic Cage before years of facial surgery began to transform into human qualities his imperfect teeth, insect eyes, caterpillar brows and a couple of ears that look like pieces of putty knocked into shape by kindergarten bullies. You will not fail to notice these things as the narrative, concocted by Wayne Crawford and Andrew Lane, stumbles along to the pulse of a very familiar beat.
The performances are lively but limited, shall we say, in scope. Cage was barely out of nappies here so he can be forgiven in what was essentially his first role. I’ve been reliably informed that young females found him attractive at the time but the lone thought that kept knocking around in my head during close-ups was “Mr. Potatohead.” And his eyes were a very different colour back then, I'm sure of it.
To give them credit, Frederic Forrest and Colleen Camp provide amusing diversions as Julie's once-hippy parents who only want the best for their baby. Coolidge continued on to make a string of barely remembered films in the eighties and early nineties before being downsized to perennial small screen duties. Her loss has not been keenly felt by cinema, one would have to say.
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Comment by MelG
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
Guilty pleasures include 8MM and Snake Eyes.
And who doesn't love Face/Off and The Rock?
Or the scene in The Weather Man when the guy in the passing car hits him in the head with the thickshake? Gold, I tell you!
Comment by Matt Shea
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I preferred Square Pegs on TV.
Dave, you forgot Birdy, probably my fave Nic Cage movie.
And then there's Raising Arizona.
Comment by MelG
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
Too true Bryn, how could I forget the Coens' looney masterpiece. As for Birdy, it's been way too many years since I saw that!
It's funny, when you look back at Nic's body of work you realise just how many fantastic films he has been in.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
There's also a very young Nic Cage in Rumble Fish made the same year as Valley Girl, and he appears in Fast Times at Ridgemont High credited as Nicolas Coppola!
I forgot about Vampire's Kiss, now that's my fave Cage performance!
Comment by Matt Shea