YMMV / Valley Girl

• Adorkable: Fred's awkward attempts to pick up girls at Suzi's party and, later, his attempt to woo Stacey during the trip to Hollywood are oddly endearing.
• Awesome Music:
  • The famous soundtrack, which, for at least 10 years after the film's release, was not available in wide release until Rhino Records released not just one, but two soundtrack CDs.
  • Modern English's "I Melt With You" plays during the montage of Julie's dates with Randy, as well as when they escape the Valley High junior prom, heading to the Valley Sheraton in Tommy's rented limousine.
• Retroactive Recognition: Loryn is Elizabeth Daily; Dotty, Tommy Pickles, and Buttercup, among other roles.
  • Which leads to retroactive Squick when you remember that she has a topless scene in the movie. Pass the Brain Bleach, please.
  • Behind the scenes example, Big Daddy co-wrote and co-produced this movie.
• Unintentional Period Piece:
  • The whole "valley girl" archetype is rooted in the 1980s.
  • The film's aesthetic drips period-specific 1980s culture, particularly the hair, clothes and music.
  • At Suzi's party, the Valley kids are enjoying the sushi platters as Randy and Fred look on, visibly nauseated. Sushi was very trendy in the Valley in the 80s, but apparently unheard of in Hollywood at the time. Nowadays, sushi is quite common across the country, including in Hollywood.
• Values Dissonance: The sleepover scene where the girls discuss dieting and gossip about a girl who binges and purges to keep slim (as they eat chips, ice cream, and cookies). When Julie eats a cookie, the girls tell her to be careful because Randy might like the lean, Hollywood look and because Tommy doesn't date fat girls. At the prom, Stacey tells another girl that she won't eat anything until after she and her date leave so that she can "scarf up half the menu" at the hotel that they'll be going to. While the film doesn't seem to promote the idea of eating disordered behavior and framed the behavior as shallow, in the era of an awareness of body image and the effects of fat-shaming, this scene would not fly.

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