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Movies / On DVD / Valley Girl
Valley Girl

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Valley Girl (1983)

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Reviews Counted:24

Fresh:20

Rotten:4

Average Rating:6.7/10

Consensus: With engaging performances from its two leads, Valley Girl is a goofy yet amiable film that both subverts and celebrates the cheerful superficiality of teen comedies.

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: It's a "totally tubular" scene as a "grody-to-the-max" punk from the wrong side of the Hollywood Hills, Randy (Nicolas Cage), falls for Julie (Deborah Foreman), a mall-dwelling Valley Girl, in this... It's a "totally tubular" scene as a "grody-to-the-max" punk from the wrong side of the Hollywood Hills, Randy (Nicolas Cage), falls for Julie (Deborah Foreman), a mall-dwelling Valley Girl, in this time capsule of 1980s teen vernacular. Julie and Randy become passionately involved; yet, despite her feelings for Randy, Julie succumbs to the peer pressure of her mall-obsessed friends, and gets back together with her Valley dude boyfriend, Tommy (Michael Bowen), who whisks Julie off to the Senior prom. Randy doesn't give up so easily, however, and chases Julie to the prom, with the help of his faithful friend, Fred (Cameron Dye), in an attempt to wrest her back. The sound track features the music of Men at Work, the Clash, and Josie Cotton in this 1980s teen comedy--an era, and topic, that director Coolidge was fond of chronicling, like her contemporary, John Hughes. [More]

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Frederic Forrest, Lee Purcell

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Frederic Forrest, Lee Purcell, Colleen Camp, Elizabeth Daily, Richard Sanders

Director: Martha Coolidge

Director: Martha Coolidge

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Valley Girl

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

While it's easy to get caught up in the nostalgia of Valley Girl, this datedness also puts some limits on how you can watch the film.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
09/12/07
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Apollo Guide

Insightful and genuine.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/24/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

For a change, there aren't any cartoon problem adults on hand as there often are in these pictures.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/24/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
09/21/05
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
International Press Academy

No review available.

comment Comment
07/02/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Cage is very good in the role that got him noticed.

comment Comment
06/13/05
Jonathan W. Hickman
Jonathan W. Hickman
Entertainment Insiders

No review available.

comment Comment
05/27/05
Marcy Dermansky
Marcy Dermansky
About.com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/24/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

This movie is a little treasure, a funny, sexy, appealing story of a Valley Girl's heartbreaking decision: Should she stick with her boring jock boyfriend, or take a chance on a punk from Hollywood?

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With characters as dimensionless as these, the film needs either greater irony or greater sympathy than it demonstrates.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/30/04
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
06/16/04
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

Dated yet infectious.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/11/04
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

One of the better '80s teen comedies.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
09/18/03
Mark Robison
Mark Robison
Reno Gazette-Journal

Color it pastel and cute

Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
08/15/03
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
ToxicUniverse.com

It’s a measure of how, like, totally influential this little film was 20 years ago that there seems to be nothing special about it today.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
08/06/03
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

Coolidge slips some darkness into Valley Girl that never resolves itself with the surrounding sunny void

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
07/29/03
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

Ugh! Ick! Gag me with a spoon! This film is an embarrasment.

comment Comment
05/13/03
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

This is one of the great teen romance movies.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

A cute little feature with Cage showing early promise.

comment Comment
12/25/02
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

It's an enjoyable flick, and it's often real funny.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Valley Girl

June 03, 2009: Jason Moore to Direct Valley Girl Musical Remake Opens in new window
MGM's updated take on "Valley Girl" is moving forward, with Jason Moore signed to direct what will be a musical remake of the 1983 cult favorite. More...

July 18, 2008: A Valley Girl Remake -- With a Twist Opens in new window
MGM is prepping a remake of the 1983 Nicolas Cage cult classic Valley Girl. Oh yeah, and this time? It's a musical. More...

April 08, 2005: The Duff Sisters Find Themselves Some New "Material"
More...

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