Martha Coolidge directs Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman and Michael Bowen in this teen romance where boy and a girl from different Eighties sub-cultures fall for each other.

Outwardly a bubblegum teen romance that benefits from existing just a forgotten moment before John Hughes really nailed down and defined the genre. There’s a lot of accidental nostalgia here but also abrasive edges that really make Valley Girl stand out. If you want mall fashions and new wave music then this has it for you. Yet it is also sexy, and sexually frank, without ever feeling like exploitation. All the characters land a little more shaded, grounded and complex than is needed. Except Michael Bowen’s possessive jock who is just a muscle bound control freak. Then you have early Cage. His character’s actions do border on stalking but there’s a reality to his anger at being dumped and his clumsy failures at winning his dream girl back. And some of his wilder improvisations are kept in over the scripted material. Which is amazing. He has lovely chemistry with Deborah Foreman who is very winning in the largest role. Valley Girl gets so much right and doesn’t feel utterly beholden to the teen romance rule book that was being written around the same time. I melt with you.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Night Of the Comet (1984)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/