I'm glad Cage changed his name from Coppolla and got this part on his own. Light-hearted, no deep thought needed, but a cute piece about opposites attracting- though her parents are still hippies.... Captures the voice of the early 80's- the whine of the valley and the funk of the other side. One can see the beginning of Cage's talent.

One word:Plastics

Valley girl, Julie(Deborah Foreman) finds herself attracted to Punker Randy(Nicholas Cage) in this simple "opposites attract" tale about what happens when social circles are tainted and friendships are tested. Foreman's friends wonder why she'd even think about dating someone from Hollywood High when she could have Tommy(Michael Bowen, most might know him as the orderly who allows men to screw a comatose Uma Thurman in KILL BILL, while also being the owner of the notorious PUSSY WAGON), the popular, although smug, stud of Valley High. Yet, she finds Randy to be so much fun. Love is there, but can she choose Randy over her best friends. The film embraces..and pokes fun at..the artificial, manicured lives of the wealthy while also being non-judgmental towards the opposite Hollywood side where the undesirables hang.

The film's ultimate success, besides the truly marvelous casting of Frederic Forrest and Colleen Camp as Foreman's hippie parents, is the great chemistry between the two leads. Startling enough, the film is quite adult on one side while also lovingly portraying what it's like to be a teenager in love while also facing the pressure of remaining part of your collective group when the choice of who your partner is may not be accepted by the friends you spend time with. Profanity and nudity does appear in increments so the film tries to be as accurate about high school life as possible. The highlights for me, as many who watch this flick, are the songs, styles, and dialogue of these characters. And, Foreman, who I just fell right in love with..she has that smile which really melts you. If you don't fall head-over-heels for Foreman then your heart is encased in steel. It's also cool seeing a young Cage as a punk with the wavy colored hair. Perhaps, one thing going against it, the flick doesn't have much of a story other than the conflict presented to Foreman. This flick depends heavily on the leads for it's charm.

"Valley Girl" is one of those rare films that's much better today, nearly 40 years later, than when it was released. In its time, it was just another romantic teen comedy, lost in a sea of many during that time period, but today it's a fascinating time capsule of early 1980s Los Angeles - the people, the places, the accents (even if much of it is stylized and over the top). By taking us to a place and culture now mostly gone and forgotten, something about "Valley Girl" gets elevated a notch or two, and it becomes an absolutely fascinating thing to watch.

You can tell by watching "Valley Girl" why Nicolas Cage became a star. He is eminently watchable. The camera just eats him up, and so do we. His female co-star, Deborah Foreman, never amounted to much, but is also highly watchable at the height of her beauty in this film. Together, they succeed in carrying this film and you want to see what happens to them, even if it's silly at times.

Everything today is so heavy and moody, exhibit A being the curmudgeonly reviewers here crapping all over "Valley Girl" because it isn't "high art" or something. Yes, "Valley Girl" is a light-hearted romantic film. That's all it ever set out to be, and it's a fun and nostalgic film to watch (if you have the right attitude...)