Television and film is loaded with heart-to-hearts between kids and parents where young people learn that you shouldn’t judge someone by how they look or what they have, but by who they are. The conversation in Valley Girl, though, hits a little differently than the rest. Julie, the lead Val in the 1983 film, is torn between the Hollywood punk she likes and the preppy dumbass that her friends want her to date. Julie’s dad adds that it’s not just what’s inside a person that counts, but “what they stand for.” Then he reminds her that not everyone will be okay with her choice because, “There are lots of people out there who just ain’t happy unless you live and think the way they do.”
The answer should be simple, but it isn’t. It never is.
Without a doubt, Valley Girl is the best ‘80s teen movie. Even the big hits of the era—like Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink— can’t touch Martha Coolidge’s new wave rom-com. A light-hearted Romeo & Juliet where Hollywood punks and posh Vals sub for the Montagues and Capulets, Valley Girl is less about the feud between two families and more about the struggle between the counterculture and the mainstream.
Julie isn’t like her friends. Yes, she’s popular and enjoys hanging at the mall and, as she tells punk Randy, buying “nice new clothes.” But, she also has hippie parents who still smoke weed and own a health food store (“It’s so uncool. Why couldn’t they own a Pizza Hut or something?”) where they don’t serve Coke because her dad said they “supported the war effort.” Her home life isn’t all that different from the one depicted on Family Ties, the popular 1980s sitcom that about hippie parents and they’re conservative, materialistic children. If you know that show, which debuted not long before Valley Girl was released, then you’ll get the reference that Julie is, essentially, Mallory. And, like Family Ties, you can see this generation gap in Valley Girl as a metaphor for the shift in the U.S. from the idealism and liberalism of the 1970s to the Reagan era.
But, all of that starts to change at a party in the hills and you can hear it in the soundtrack. Julie settles into the party to the sound of “Angst in My Pants.” She has an awkward encounter with her ex Tommy as “Jukebox (Don’t Put Another Dime)” plays in the background and connects with party-crasher Randy during “Eyes of a Stranger.” It’s flawless use of music in a movie, where the songs push the narrative and the character development. You see, and hear, that Julie doesn’t fit in as well as she pretends to and she’s really is looking to get out of her small Valley circle. Maybe she doesn’t stand for the same things that her friends do.
(Valley Girl also has the best soundtrack of all the ‘80s teen movies. Sparks! The Flirts! Psychedelic Furs! Modern English! It’s just a non-stop barrage of new wave jams.)
Randy’s punk leanings put him squarely in the counterculture category. His vibe may be different from that of Julie’s parents, but they’re all essentially bucking societal norms. What he lacks in wealth he makes up for in fun. While he has no clout with the Valley crowd, once they head over the hill, it’s obvious that he knows and gets along well with people across Hollywood’s subcultures.
Meanwhile, Julie’s friends and her ex are peak ‘80s mainstream. They’re overly concerned with appearances and social standing. They’re avid consumers of junk food and mall fashion, who like to flaunt their wealth when they can. Serving sushi at a high school party? Saying that someone has their parents’ Mercedes instead of just, y’know, a car? And they hate it when you don’t fall in line with them.
Valley Girl maybe a teen rom-com on the surface, but it’s also a really good social satire. Julie’s friends and her ex stand for consumption and conformity. Her parents and Randy stand against all that. And while her parents give her all the space she needs to become herself, eventually, she needs to pick a side.
I’ve watched Valley Girl enough times to notice minute details, like that the Denny’s that flashes in one quick scene is the same one on Ventura Blvd. that my friends and I went to in the 1990s and that Randy is wearing a Tangerine Dream t-shirt under his animal-print button-down shirt. But, I can say that about a lot of ‘80s teen movies. After all, many of them they played on cable constantly for decades after the fact and most have ended up streaming in the past few years. Valley Girl, though, gets better every time I watch it. I can’t say that about the other movies. Not to be a hater or anything, but I really detest the ending of Pretty in Pink. It makes me angry to see Andie go off with Blane instead of Duckie, but I have to fight the urge to throw things at the TV when Iona sells out and dresses like a yuppie dork for her big date. That’s even worse than the “let’s makeover the basket case” moment in The Breakfast Club, which is truly the most heartbreaking moment of the movie.
See, your average ‘80s teen movie is about finding acceptance. Valley Girl isn’t. Valley Girl is about making your own decisions even when you know full well that you’ll be rejected for them. It’s about figuring out what you stand for and sticking with it.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs or listen to the latest Beatique Mix. Follow on Instagram for more updates.
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