Valley Girl is a 1980s-set Romeo & Juliet type tale (though without the like totally downer of an ending). San Fernando Valley teenager Julie Richman (Deborah Foreman) is bored with her longtime preppy boyfriend Tommy (Michael Bowen), and is tired of being taken for granted by him. So she dumps him as they pass by one other on the escalator at the mall. Tommy doesn’t take the break-up well, and tells Julie she can’t do better, and that she’ll be back.

The next night at a party, she has her sights set on Brad (Tony Markes), but quickly realizes that her attempts at flirting are a complete failure. And then she locks eyes with Hollywood punk Randy (Nicolas Cage), who crashed the party along with his best friend Fred (Cameron Dye). Tommy had been trying to make Julie jealous all night, and that failed. He doesn’t like seeing his girl with another guy, so he picks a fight with Randy, and kicks him out. But it’s too late, Randy has already fallen for Julie, and won’t give up that easily. Randy sneaks back in and takes Julie away, showing her a completely different world from the Valley, taking her down Hollywood Boulevard, visiting music clubs, and introducing her to his culture. And so begins a relationship between these two people from opposite worlds, a relationship that will experience several ups and downs. Julie’s best friends—Stacey (Heidi Holicker), Loryn (Elizabeth EG Daily), and Suzi (Michelle Meyrink)—don’t necessarily care for this guy from the wrong side of the tracks, and think she should get back with Tommy.

Valley Girl is not unlike many of the other R-rated sex comedies of the early 1980s. In the bonus material, director Martha Coolidge states that one of the stipulations of the project was that there had to be four breast scenes in the film. (I didn’t know this until after seeing the film—while watching, one of my reactions was, “Did no one wear bras in the 80s?!”). While listening to the commentary and interviews, I couldn’t help but think of today’s #MeToo movement, and that this is the type of Hollywood antics that would never fly today—Elizabeth Daily explains how she was surprised by that fact that she had to do a nude scene, and felt a little uncomfortable doing so. However, her character’s scene doesn’t feel gratiuitous—it adds a bit of emotional punch to the film. Loryn is pressured into having sex at a party, and then the guy she was with brags about it to all his friends. This still feels very relevant today, and also helps to elevate the film beyond just a typical sex comedy. There is something more real to these characters, despite being in this heightened world.

That said, there is still a lot of fun to the film as well. The young Nic Cage is quite charming. After he sneaks back into the party, we see Randy hiding out in the shower waiting for Julie to enter the bathroom so he can speak with her. He is eavesdropping on and having amusing reactions to the conversations of the other guests as he waits. There is also a fun Graduate-like side plot.

One major piece of Valley Girl is the music. It has a phenomenal soundtrack, which includes performances by The Plimsouls in a club that Randy and Julie visit, and by Josie Cotton at the Valley High Junior Prom. In addition, there are a lot of other recognizable songs that play throughout the film, including Modern English’s “I Melt With You”, which becomes the theme song of the couple, and plays during a montage of Randy and Julie on various dates.

Shout! Factory has remastered the film for this Shout Select Blu-ray release, but the result is a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes the picture looks fantastic, but often there is an excessive amount of grain—this is especially noticeable in the beach scene and some of the darker scenes at night. While the music soundtrack sounds great, it often overpowered some of the dialog, which is concentrated on the center channel, making it a little difficult to understand at times (especially with all that Valley Girl lingo). That said, this is probably still the best the film has looked at home, especially given that it is 35 years old.

Shout! Factory usually does a great job with the supplemental material in its line of Shout Select Blu-rays, and this is no different. The disc includes some great new features along with porting over most of the material from MGM’s 20th anniversary DVD from 2003—a director commentary, storyboard comparisons, retrospective interviews with the cast/crew, a featurette on the film’s music, and two music videos. The new material includes a new hour-long interview with director Martha Coolidge and stars Heidi Holicker & Elizabeth (EG) Daily, a 20-minute look at the history of the San Fernando Valley, over three and a half hours of additional footage from the 2003 interviews, and the film’s trailer. Missing from the DVD release are a cast/crew video commentary (which I suspect was just comprised of clips from the extended interviews included here) and a Pop-Up Video style trivia track.

The disc comes packed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a slipcover. Like many other Shout Select releases, the insert inside the cover is reversible, giving the viewer a choice in how to display this title in his or her collection. The alternate view for this title can be seen below:

What’s Included:

Film: (1:39:26)

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

• Commentary with Martha Coolidge (1:39:26)
  The film’s director provides an really interesting and informative commentary. She briefly talks about how the film came about, her inspiration, and what it was like shooting the film on a tight budget. Then she goes into more of a detailed discussion of each scene, sharing behind-the-scenes and production stories. Originally produced for MGM’s 2003 DVD release.
• Valley Girl In Conversation (50:11)
  This new feature finds director Martha Coolidge having a retrospective discussion about the film with stars Heidi Holicker (“Stacey”) & Elizabeth (EG) Daily (“Loryn”). The women talk about the bare breasts requirements for the film, Valley girls, the film’s love story, working with Nicolas Cage, making lifelong friends on the set, the soundtrack, the wardrobe, shooting on a tight budget, and more. A lot of this is presented in split screen, with multiple angles displayed in various boxes around the screen.
• Greetings from the San Fernando Valley (19:14)
  In this new featurette, Tommy Gelinas, the curator/founder of The Valley Relics Museum, discusses the history of the San Fernando Valley and how it was portrayed in the film—from the culture to the lingo, and more. Also includes some footage from a 2003 interview with Nicolas Cage (“Randy”) where he describes the difference between the Valley and Hollywood.
• Show and Tell (4:47)
  In this new featurette, star Heidi Holicker shares some of her behind-the-scenes/publicity photos and memorabilia with director Martha Coolidge.
• Storyboard to Film Comparison (11:30)
  A look at the storyboard process with director Martha Coolidge. Includes side-by-side comparisons of the script/storyboard and the final film. Presented in full frame format. Originally produced for MGM’s 2003 DVD release.
• In Conversation: Martha Coolidge and Nicolas Cage (20:00)
  Star Nicolas Cage and director Martha Coolidge sit down for a conversation about the film 20 years later. They share some fun behind-the-scenes stories. Presented in full frame format. Originally produced for MGM’s 2003 DVD release.
• 20 Totally Tubular Years Later (24:15)
  A retrospective look back at the film 20 years later with director Martha Coolidge, writers/producers Andrew Lane & Wayne Crawford, and stars Nicolas Cage, Elizabeth Daily, Cameron Dye (“Fred”), Heidi Holicker, Michael Bowen (“Tommy”), Colleen Camp (“Beth”), Frederic Forrest (“Steve”), and Lee Purcell (“Mrs. Brent”). The participants share stories about how the film came about, casting the film, improvisation, the tight schedule, the directing process, the surprise success of the film, and more. Presented in full frame format. Originally produced for MGM’s 2003 DVD release.
• The Music of Valley Girl (15:57)
  A discussion about the film’s amazing soundtrack and use of music in the film. Participants include director Martha Coolidge, former K.R.O.Q. D.J. Richard Blade, musicians Peter Case (The Plimsouls), Josie Cotton & Robbie Grey (Modern English), and actors Cameron Dye, Nicolas Cage, Coleen Camp, Heidi Holicker, and Elizabeth Daily. Presented in full frame format. Originally produced for MGM’s 2003 DVD release.
• The Girls (47:51)
  Newly released additional footage from the interviews recorded for MGM’s 2003 DVD release. This section features interviews with director Martha Coolidge, and stars Elizabeth Daily & Heidi Holicker. Presented in full frame format.
• The Boys (54:09)
  Newly released additional footage from the interviews recorded for MGM’s 2003 DVD release. This section features interviews with stars Nicolas Cage, Michael Bowen & Cameron Dye. Presented in full frame format.
• The Parents (42:59)
  Newly released additional footage from the interviews recorded for MGM’s 2003 DVD release. This section features interviews with stars Lee Purcell, Frederic Forrest & Coleen Camp. Presented in full frame format.
• The Bands (54:11)
  Newly released additional footage from the interviews recorded for MGM’s 2003 DVD release. This section features interviews with DJ Richard Blade, musicians Josie Cotton & Peter Case, and star Nicolas Cage. Presented in full frame format.
• The Producers – Writers (14:17)
  Newly released additional footage from the interviews recorded for MGM’s 2003 DVD release. This section features interviews with co-producers/co-writers Wayne Crawford & Andrew Lane. Presented in full frame format.
• Music Videos (8:13)
  Music videos for “I Melt With You” by Modern English and “A Million Miles Away” by The Plimsouls. Originally appeared on MGM’s 2003 DVD release. Presented in full frame format.
• Trailer (2:27)

Final Thoughts:

Valley Girl is very much a film of its time, bottling up a unique window into what the 1980s were like. It is a Romeo and Juliet tale crossed with an 80s sex comedy, but more elevated and serious. The audio/video presentation is a bit of a mixed bag, but the film’s amazing musical soundtrack sounds great. The Blu-ray is loaded with bonus material that is sure to please fans. This is a must-own for fans of the films, and worth checking out for those interested in revisiting the 80’s and seeing a much younger Nic Cage in one of his early performances.