Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
... View MoreThe plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
... View MoreThe movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
... View MoreIf you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
... View MoreI watched this film after reading the plethora of positive IMDb reviews, touting it as Romeo and Juliette for the eighties and, while it does share with the bard's masterpiece the theme of forbidden teenage love, all similarities begin and end there. Filled with pointless story lines, characters on both sides of the divide who are sorely lacking in intellect, depth and purpose, and an ending that is pathetically lazy and neither intriguing nor romantic, this sorry excuse for a film brings absolutely nothing new to the table and fails miserably at even adding anything interesting, let alone insightful, to a familiar, seemingly straightforward topic. For a truly brilliant take on the complications of love among the young, rich and shallow, watch Amy Heckerling's Clueless, itself based much more faithfully on another work of classic literature, yet adapted to not only appeal to but actually shape the culture of its time. What a shameful insult to William Shakespeare it is, having his timeless work of poetic style and substance compared to this vacuous garbage.
... View MoreIn the early 1980's the teen sex comedy was a prevalent genre, producing such "risque" works as Porky's (1982), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), and The Last American Virgin (1982) - naming just a few of the many varying qualities of film. Despite Porky's being a more juvenile, and therefore lesser entry, it was the fifth top grossing film of 1982 (even though Fast Times is superior). Basically what these teen movies required was parties, booze and tits. And whilst Valley Girl has all of the ingredients, it is a far more mature film than the antics of a Screwballs, Spring Break, or Private School (all 1983), whose narratives involve the pursuit of sex, in what ever droll form that may take. I'm not suggesting these films are awful - they have their qualities - but the level of drama or realism of character is sorely missing.Julie (Deborah Foreman), as the title highlights, is from the rich valleys of California. At a house party, she meets Randy (Nicolas Cage), who is a "punk" from the wrong side of the tracks (in this world Hollywood is that place). They hang out for a time and fall for each other. However, the pressures of rich, privileged life gets in the way, as the conformity of Julie's friends, suggests that she is required to get back with her previous, Jock boyfriend Tommy (Michael Bowen). In the high schools of the valley, the need to stay within the confines of your "class" is essential to keep your reputation in tact, and Randy does not fit in to the generic role of preppy boy.The film does itself conform to romantic comedy tropes, but this does not matter. As with later teen comedies (Clueless (1995) or Mean Girls (2004) for example), Valley Girl highlights, to the mostly teen audience, that it is important not to conform to your peers ideals, fashions and product consumption. Julie's parents are seen by her as lame of course (it's a teenage thing), but Randy sees differently, as they are hippies of the Woodstock age, running a pseudo-fashionable health food shop, their own non-conformist attitude evident, but never pushed onto the daughter. It's a charming little film, that treats its teenage characters with maturity, and they are never simple box-tickers like so many of these comedies of vacuous, shallow, and stereotypical consumer teenagers.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
... View MoreI remember seeing this movie back when it was released and I still remember the 'buzz' I felt when I left the cinema. Everything about this movie is magnificent! The music is top notch and I still play the soundtrack after all these years.I have seen this movie so many times and yet I still get yearnings to watch it again and again. Nicholas Cage was great and whenever I see Cameron Dye in anything nowadays, I always associate him with this movie. It is too bad the rest of the cast didn't go on to greater things but maybe that is part of this film's charm.I won't do a film school critique as I am sure all the analysts out there can find fault if they wanted to, but what I will say is that this movie defined my teenage years and still continues to influence my life over 20 years later. The movie 'feels' great and stirs up emotions when you watch it (well...it did for me) and I cannot recommend it highly enough for anybody who has not yet seen it.You either 'get' the movie or you don't! Those of you who 'get it' will be rewarded with a unique movie experience.
... View MoreOK, so it piggy-backed on Frank/Moon Zappa's hit song. Doesn't change the fact that it is very well done and very funny. Teen angst has seldom been done so well.Nicholas Cage -- in one of his first roles -- is outstanding. Deborah Foreman is scintillating... don't really know why her career didn't go anywhere after this.The plot is formulaic -- kid from the "wrong side of the tracks" meets stuck up person and sparks fly... boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl. And yet it's how any moviemaker works that formula that is important. Here it works brilliantly.For you 80s music fans, the live scenes of the Plimsouls and Josie Cotton are priceless. "A millllllllion miles....away".
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