''Valley Girl'' (also known as ''Bad Boyz'' ) is a 1983 American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Martha Coolidge Martha Coolidge (born August 17, 1946) is an American film director and former President of the Directors Guild of America. She has directed such films as ''Valley Girl'', ''Real Genius'' and '' Rambling Rose''. Early life Coolidge was born in N ...

and starring

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gui ...

, Deborah Foreman,

Michelle Meyrink Michelle Meyrink (born September 1, 1962) is a Canadian teacher and former actress. Early life Meyrink was born on September 1, 1962 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and began acting at an early age. Acting career She performed roles du ...

, Elizabeth Daily, Cameron Dye and Michael Bowen. ''Valley Girl'' was released in the United States on April 29, 1983. The plot is based loosely on Shakespeare's '' Romeo and Juliet.''

Plot

Julie Richman is a

Valley girl A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, ...

who seems to have it all: good looks, popularity, and a handsome Valley dude boyfriend, Tommy, but she is having second thoughts about her relationship with the arrogant and selfish Tommy. At the end of a shopping trip with her friends, Loryn, Stacey, and Suzi, Julie runs into Tommy and breaks up with him. Later that day at the beach, Julie trades shy glances with a young man in the distance. That night, at a party at Suzi's house, Julie locks eyes with Randy, a Hollywood

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

who has crashed the party with his friend Fred. They hit it off, especially after Julie learns Randy was the young man at the beach. Tommy is jealous, and tries to bed Loryn. He fails and gets his cronies to eject Randy and Fred from the party. Undaunted, Randy sneaks back into the house and hides in an upstairs bathroom shower. Randy waits in the shower for Julie to enter the bathroom as various party goers come and go, talking about and trying to have sex, and doing drugs. When Julie enters, Randy convinces her to leave the party with him. Julie brings a reluctant Stacey for the ride with Randy and Fred. While at Randy's favorite Hollywood nightclub, Julie and Randy rapidly grow closer as Stacey continually rebuffs Fred's advances. Julie ignores Stacey's plight and the fact that she never wanted to be there or with Fred. Julie's friends, dismayed by her relationship with Randy, pressure her to get back together with Tommy. Julie asks her father for advice, and he kindly tells her she should follow her heart. Despite this, Julie reconciles with Tommy and later dumps Randy. A heartbroken Randy gets severely drunk, makes out with his ex-girlfriend, and nearly gets into a fight with a gang of low riders before Fred saves him. Fred chides Randy for moping over Julie, but tells him he needs to fight if he truly wants her back. After Randy flits about the Valley for the next few days just so he can get a glimpse at Julie, Fred says he has a plan that will reunite Randy with Julie as well as get revenge against Tommy. A subplot involves Suzi and her stepmother Beth vying for the attention of a boy named Skip. At her party, Suzi tells Beth, who is chaperoning, about Skip, whom she likes and hopes will show up. When Skip arrives, Beth is attracted to him. Skip also is attracted to Beth and goes out of his way to see her without Suzi's finding out. One day, Skip enters Suzi's house, apparently looking for Beth. He goes upstairs and finds a woman in the shower in Beth's bedroom. Skip and this woman, whose face is not shown, are then shown making love. Another woman arrives home and goes upstairs. The bedroom door opens, Beth enters, and only then it is shown Suzi was in the shower and in bed with Skip. Skip and Suzi go to the prom together. As the girls make prom decorations, Stacey and Loryn chat over their post-prom plans. Stacey reveals Tommy made a reservation at the Valley Sheraton Hotel as an after-prom "surprise" for Julie. Tommy and Julie ride to the prom in a rented stretch limousine; Randy and Fred arrive shortly after and sneak backstage. Randy increasingly becomes annoyed with watching the Valley High kids dance, but Fred assures him all is going according to plan. Julie and Tommy are escorted backstage, waiting to be introduced as king and queen of the prom. Randy confronts Tommy, and the two begin to brawl. When the prom king and queen are announced, the curtain pulls back to reveal Randy's beating up Tommy. Randy knocks Tommy out, then escorts a thrilled Julie from the stage through the crowd. Tommy recovers and storms through the crowd toward Randy and Julie, who start a food fight to slow Tommy down and facilitate their escape from the venue in Tommy's rented limousine. As the happy couple ride into the night toward the Valley Sheraton, Julie removes Tommy's ID bracelet, which had been a sign of the relationship between the two during the entire film, and throws it out the window.

Cast

Production

The film originally was conceived as a teen

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

to capitalize on the

valley girl A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, ...

fad inspired by the

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

and Moon Unit Zappa song "

Valley Girl A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, ...

." Zappa explored the possibility of making a "Valley Girl" film and received inquiries from several studios, though nothing materialized. Zappa later unsuccessfully sued to stop production of the film, claiming it infringed on his trademark. The opening scene of the film features an aerial shot of the

Mulholland Dam The Mulholland Dam is a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power dam located in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California, east of the Hollywood Freeway. Designed with a storage capacity of of water at a maximum depth of , the dam forms t ...

. The camera then pans over the Hollywood Hills and the iconic Hollywood Sign to a wide-angle shot of the San Fernando Valley, setting up a recurring compare and contrast theme between the San Fernando Valley culture of the eighties versus the grittier culture of Hollywood and central Los Angeles. Cage and Foreman found it difficult to do the breakup scene at Julie's front door because it was shot late in the filming when Cage and Foreman were dating. It took several takes and some counseling by Martha Coolidge. She told Foreman to think of another guy she had broken up with. The film reunites

Colleen Camp Colleen Celeste Camp (born June 7, 1953) is an American character actress and producer. After appearing in several bit parts, she had a lead role in the comedy ''The Swinging Cheerleaders'' (1974), followed by roles in two installments of the '' ...

and

Frederic Forrest Frederic Fenimore Forrest Jr. (born December 23, 1936) is an American actor. Forrest came to public attention for his performance in ''When the Legends Die'' (1972), which earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising N ...

, who appeared together in Francis Ford Coppola's ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph ...

'' (1979), and had a memorable sex scene together in the 2001 re-edit, '' Apocalypse Now Redux''.

Reception

Box office

''Valley Girl'' was released on April 29, 1983, and opened in 442 theaters. In the opening weekend, it grossed $1,856,780 at #4. The final domestic gross reached $17,343,596.

Critical reception

The film garnered mostly positive reviews; Rotten Tomatoes currently reviews an 83% 'Fresh' rating based on 29 reviews, noting "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."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

gave the film a score of 66 based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features a host of new wave recording artists including the

Psychedelic Furs Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science ...

as well as

the Plimsouls The Plimsouls are an American rock band known for their hit single "A Million Miles Away" which was featured in the movie ''Valley Girl''. History The band was formed in Paramount, California in 1978. They recorded two full-length albums and an ...

and

Josie Cotton Josie Cotton (born 1956) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for " Johnny Are You Queer?" and "He Could Be the One" from 1982. "Johnny Are You Queer?" was used on the soundtracks to ''Jackass Number Two'' and ''Valley Girl''. "He Co ...

, both of whom appeared in the film. Songs by

Bonnie Hayes Bonnie Hayes is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer, born in San Francisco, California, United States, and currently lives between Los Angeles and New York City. Her songs have been recorded by Cher, Bette Midler, Bonnie ...

, Modern English, and Payolas also featured prominently. Many of the songs used were minor chart hits in 1982–83. Josie Cotton's " Johnny Are You Queer?" was a regional hit in Southern California in 1981, placing #5 on KROQ-FM's Top 106 songs of the year and "He Could Be the One" from her album ''Convertible Music'' had reached #74 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1982. The song heard over the opening credits is "Girls Like Me" from

' 1982 album ''Good Clean Fun'', which "bubbled under" the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart at #206.

The Plimsouls The Plimsouls are an American rock band known for their hit single "A Million Miles Away" which was featured in the movie ''Valley Girl''. History The band was formed in Paramount, California in 1978. They recorded two full-length albums and an ...

' "A Million Miles Away" and the Payolas' "Eyes of a Stranger" were moderate hits in 1982, reaching #11 and #22, respectively, on '' Billboard''s

Top Tracks Classic Vinyl is a Sirius XM Radio channel focusing on classic rock music mostly from the late-1960s to the mid-1970s, with the channel's name meant to indicate that it consists of music that first appeared on vinyl records. This encompasses musi ...

chart. "

I Melt with You "I Melt with You" is a song by the British new wave band Modern English. The song, produced by Hugh Jones, was the second single from their 1982 album '' After the Snow''. It became the band's most successful single, largely in the United ...

" by Modern English reached #78 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1983. The song "I Melt with You" occurred twice in the film: in the ending credits and in the love scene montage. Director Martha Coolidge heard it on the radio and decided it caught the spirit of the film. She had to call the staff at the station and sing it to them to find out what it was called because they didn't announce what songs were after they were played. The end credits show songs by

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

, Culture Club,

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. T ...

, and

the Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1 ...

, but these songs are not heard in the film. After the film was completed, problems arose in acquiring the music rights and substitute songs had to be dubbed. Altogether the music rights cost $250,000 on top of the film's original $350,000 budget. The planned release of a soundtrack album on Epic Records (catalog number FE 38673) was cancelled due to the clearance problems with some of the songs. Instead, a different six-song mini-album was manufactured by Roadshow Records, a one-off subsidiary of Atlantic Releasing. The album never was released commercially, but a few copies were leaked and became highly valued collector's items. More common is a counterfeit copy which is distinguished by the misspelling of the title as "Valley Girls" on the spine of the album cover. In 1994,

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

released a compilation of songs from the film's soundtrack on CD, which peaked at #155 on the ''Billboard'' 200. This was followed by a second volume titled ''More Music from the Valley Girl Soundtrack'' in 1995. The film originally carried the song " Who Can It Be Now?" by

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as " Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is C ...

in the scene where Randy hides in the shower hoping Julie will come in, but in the special edition DVD release, the song "Systematic Way" (

) carries over into the next scene.

Track listing

;US mini-LP ''Valley Girl (Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (Roadshow, 1983) # "Girls LIke Me" -

With The Wild Combo # "Angst In My Pants" - Sparks # "School Is In" -

# "Everywhere At Once" -

# " Johnny Are You Queer?" - Josie Cotton # "Shelly's Boyfriend" - Bonnie Hayes With The Wild Combo ;UK LP ''Valley Girl (The Original Soundtrack Album)'' (Avatar Communications, 1984) # "

I Melt With You "I Melt with You" is a song by the British new wave band Modern English. The song, produced by Hugh Jones, was the second single from their 1982 album '' After the Snow''. It became the band's most successful single, largely in the United ...

" - Modern English # "Girls LIke Me" - Bonnie Hayes With The Wild Combo # "

Love My Way ''Love My Way'' is an Australian television drama series. It won the AFI award for Best Television Drama Series for each of its three seasons (2004–2007). Premise Set in Sydney, ''Love My Way'' was about a group of 30-somethings dealing wit ...

" -

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk sc ...

# "School Is In" - Josie Cotton # "Everywhere At Once" - The Plimsouls # " Who Can It Be Now?" -

Men At Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as " Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is C ...

# "Shelly's Boyfriend" - Bonnie Hayes With The Wild Combo # "She Talks To Me In Stereo" -

Gary Myrick Gary Myrick is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Career Born in Dallas, Texas, Gary Myrick played guitar and sang in Dallas and neighboring Fort Worth starting as a teenager. Eventually, he built a significant enough reputation to be ...

# "Johnny Are You Queer?" - Josie Cotton ;CD ''Valley Girl (Music From The Soundtrack)'' (Rhino, 1994) # "A Million Miles Away" - The Plimsouls - 3:44 # "Johnny, Are You Queer?" - Josie Cotton - 2:46 # "Eyes Of A Stranger" -

Payola$ Payolas (stylized as Payola$) was a Canadian rock band that was most prominent in the 1980s. Evolving from a new wave sound toward mainstream pop rock, they were best known for the single "Eyes of a Stranger", from their 1982 album '' No Stran ...

– 3:33 # "Angst In My Pants" - Sparks – 3:30 # "Who Can It Be Now?" - Men At Work – 3:23 # "Everywhere At Once" - The Plimsouls – 3:19 # "I La La La Love You" -

Pat Travers Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career in the mid-1970s. Early life Travers was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Soon after picking up the guitar at ag ...

' Black Pearl – 3:37 # "He Could Be The One" - Josie Cotton – 2:48 # "Love My Way" - The Psychedelic Furs – 3:40 # "Jukebox (Don't Put Another Dime)" - The Flirts – 3:45 # "The Fanatic" -

Felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

– 3:36 # "She Talks In Stereo" - Gary Myrick & The Figures – 4:00 # "Oldest Story In The World" - The Plimsouls – 3:22 # "School Is In" - Josie Cotton – 2:34 # "I Melt With You" - Modern English – 3:48 ;CD ''Valley Girl (More Music From The Soundtrack)'' (Rhino, 1995) # "Girls Like Me" - Bonnie Hayes with The Wild Combo – 3:02 # "Eaten By The Monster Of Love" - Sparks – 3:01 # "

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

" -

Toni Basil Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her song "Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit th ...

– 3:28 # "Zero Hour (Original Version)" - The Plimsouls – 2:35 # " He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" -

– 3:46 # " In The Name Of Love" -

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were a British pop band formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the mid-1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kin ...

– 3:20 # "The Earthquake Song" -

The Little Girls The Little Girls was a novelty band formed by the sisters Caron Maso (guitar, vocals) and Michele Maso (vocals) from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. Kip Brown (lead guitar, vocals), Steve Sicular (guitar) and Jeff Fai ...

– 2:33 # "

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" is a song written and performed by English new wave band Culture Club. Released as a single in September 1982 from the group's platinum-selling debut album, '' Kissing to Be Clever'' (1982), it was the band's fir ...

" - Culture Club – 4:24 # " Cool Places" - Sparks &

Jane Wiedlin Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin (born May 20, 1958) is an American musician and singer, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave band The Go-Go's. She has also had a successful solo career. The Go-Go's w ...

– 3:25 # " Town Called Malice" -

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1 ...

– 2:56 # "I Eat Cannibals" -

Total Coelo Toto Coelo (renamed Total Coelo in the US) was a 1980s British new wave group, founded by producer Barry Blue. The original members were singers Anita Mahadevan, Lacey Bond, Lindsey Danvers, Ros Holness (daughter of television presenter Bob Ho ...

– 3:33 # "Time To Win" - Gary Myrick & The Figures – 4:05 # "Voo Doo" -

Rachel Sweet Rachel Sweet (born July 28, 1962)
accessed May 2, 2014. is an American singer, television writer and actres ...

– 3:39 # "Marina Men" - Valley Girls – 4:26 # "Pocket Pool" - Killer Pussy – 4:18 # "Shelly's Boyfriend" - Bonnie Hayes with The Wild Combo – 3:38

Home media

''Valley Girl'' is available on DVD. The special edition DVD contains many extras, including the option of a running commentary by director Martha Coolidge, and interviews with many of the cast and crew, including Cage, Bowen, Holicker, Case, and Daily. For whatever reason, Deborah Foreman (Julie) is noticeably absent from this. In the DVD documentary, Daily admits that she had no idea what Valley Girls were supposed to sound like and decided that Loryn would be from Malibu, California (and therefore not a true Valley Girl) in order to cover this up; she later provided the singing voice of ''

Two and a Half Men ''Two and a Half Men'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, t ...

'' Jake Harper who splits his time between his parents' homes in Malibu and the Valley.

Shout Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

released ''Valley Girl'' on Blu-ray on October 30, 2018.

Remake

In November 2016, MGM announced that a remake of ''Valley Girl'' was being planned, to be directed by

Rachel Lee Goldenberg Rachel Lee Goldenberg (born 1984/1985) is an American film director and screenwriter. She has directed a number of feature films and television episodes. She had her breakthrough after she was discovered by Will Ferrell, who gave her the opportu ...

. Jessica Rothe will play Julie in the remake. In January 2017, it was announced that Josh Whitehouse will play Randy in the remake. In April 2017, Chloe Bennet, Ashleigh Murray, Jessie Ennis, and

Logan Paul Logan Alexander Paul (born April 1, 1995) is an American media personality, podcaster, actor, and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is inactive due to a knee injury. He has over 23 m ...

joined the cast. In May 2017,

Mae Whitman Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She began acting in commercials as a child, making her film debut at the age of six in the romantic drama '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994). She achieved recognition as ...

also joined the cast. The film was scheduled for a June 29, 2018 release. On March 1, 2018,

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

announced that the film had been pulled from its schedule because of ongoing controversies surrounding Logan Paul. It was once again set for May 8, 2020. However, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the film's theatrical release was scrapped and was instead released as a

video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

title and in select drive-ins.

References

External links

* * * * {{Romeo and Juliet film adaptations 1983 films 1983 independent films 1983 romantic comedy films 1980s teen comedy films 1980s teen romance films American independent films American romantic comedy films American teen comedy films American teen romance films Atlantic Entertainment Group films 1980s English-language films Films based on Romeo and Juliet Films directed by Martha Coolidge Films set in Los Angeles Films set in the San Fernando Valley Films shot in Los Angeles 1980s American films