I can't believe that I didn't see this 80s flick until 2005, what is wrong with me? Certainly went into this one with high expectations, meaning, hoping it that it would join the upper echelon of 80s teen classics like Sixteen Candles, the Breakfast Club, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Nope, not the case. This movie, though funny at times, is slow, uninspired, and simply not that much fun. Even the crucial house party scene (required in teen flick from the 80s-present) overstayed it's welcome, and lacked the zaniness that other teen flick gems possess.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS *********
I hate to say it but the character development was horrific. I know you have to judge these movies in a different way, can't take them too seriously, but the movie was about an hour old until you got a feel for any of the characters, aside from Randy and Julie (Cage and Foreman). None of Julie's friends showed any personality till the film was 60 minutes old, they barely made a peep about Randy, then all of the sudden, Julie dumps him because her friends supposedly loathe him, though they didn't explicitly say that, it's merely implied. Teen comedies usually have some melodrama to go along with their silliness but there was no tension between the friends, hence no reason for the breakup. Also, the Valley Girl, as well as her friends, was not nearly as valley as I had hoped. Maybe that passed for "valley" back in the 80s but it certainly wasn't as exaggerated as this viewer hoped.
MORE SPOILERS *******
There were some enjoyable moments to VG. Julie's parents, a couple of 60s leftovers (surprised it didn't show them smoking grass with their daughter), and the prurient mother (who houses the BIG party) add some fun to the mix. The bad 80s hair and attire, the fact that I Melt With You plays not once but twice, and that nightclub band plays a song I know (refrain goes "A Million Miles Away," you've heard the song, a classic bad new wave song). Then again, this dingy club may have been "edgy" back in the times of the Evil Empire, but now it serves as comic relief. But Randy cares not, as he frequents this place often, but one must ask themselves, does Randy exist outside of the establishment? Whether he's playing the role of the bad boy or acting like he's been shot by Cupids arrow, he's just kind of there. Now that I think of it, I guess he does go to the beach and he's a party crasher. He had no connection at the party, so I'm assuming intuition told him damn the torpedoes, go anyway, for inside lies the girl of your dreams. Also, make sure to throw the F bomb out as often as possible to exude the maximum amount of testosterone.
So overall, this movie had all the necessary ingredients to be a classic teen movie and to some people it may be that, especially if you were in high school at the time. However, the shoddy character development, the lack of campy inspiration and just the sheer stupidity of movies from this genre was lacking. The low budget didn't bug me but this movie was rather comatose at times. Can't really see how this movie spawned the whole Valley Girl image but the caveat is that I was 3 when this film was made, so what do I know? In the end I found myself yawning more than I was giggling.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS *********
I hate to say it but the character development was horrific. I know you have to judge these movies in a different way, can't take them too seriously, but the movie was about an hour old until you got a feel for any of the characters, aside from Randy and Julie (Cage and Foreman). None of Julie's friends showed any personality till the film was 60 minutes old, they barely made a peep about Randy, then all of the sudden, Julie dumps him because her friends supposedly loathe him, though they didn't explicitly say that, it's merely implied. Teen comedies usually have some melodrama to go along with their silliness but there was no tension between the friends, hence no reason for the breakup. Also, the Valley Girl, as well as her friends, was not nearly as valley as I had hoped. Maybe that passed for "valley" back in the 80s but it certainly wasn't as exaggerated as this viewer hoped.
MORE SPOILERS *******
There were some enjoyable moments to VG. Julie's parents, a couple of 60s leftovers (surprised it didn't show them smoking grass with their daughter), and the prurient mother (who houses the BIG party) add some fun to the mix. The bad 80s hair and attire, the fact that I Melt With You plays not once but twice, and that nightclub band plays a song I know (refrain goes "A Million Miles Away," you've heard the song, a classic bad new wave song). Then again, this dingy club may have been "edgy" back in the times of the Evil Empire, but now it serves as comic relief. But Randy cares not, as he frequents this place often, but one must ask themselves, does Randy exist outside of the establishment? Whether he's playing the role of the bad boy or acting like he's been shot by Cupids arrow, he's just kind of there. Now that I think of it, I guess he does go to the beach and he's a party crasher. He had no connection at the party, so I'm assuming intuition told him damn the torpedoes, go anyway, for inside lies the girl of your dreams. Also, make sure to throw the F bomb out as often as possible to exude the maximum amount of testosterone.
So overall, this movie had all the necessary ingredients to be a classic teen movie and to some people it may be that, especially if you were in high school at the time. However, the shoddy character development, the lack of campy inspiration and just the sheer stupidity of movies from this genre was lacking. The low budget didn't bug me but this movie was rather comatose at times. Can't really see how this movie spawned the whole Valley Girl image but the caveat is that I was 3 when this film was made, so what do I know? In the end I found myself yawning more than I was giggling.