FilmSnobReviews

Title: Valley Girl
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Rachel Lee Goldenberg
Starring: Jessica Rothe, Josh Whitehouse, Jessie Ennis
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

What It Is: Julie Richman (Rothe) is a valley girl. She spends her evenings at the mall with her gaggle of fellow valley gals. Her boyfriend is the picture-perfect Mickey (Logan Paul). When she meets the very punk rock Randy (Whitehouse) the two form a Romeo and Juliet act in the shadow of the sunset strip. All this set to a banging 1980s soundtrack sure to have you longing for the days of leg warmers and way too much Aqua Net.

What We Think: This is not by any means a GREAT movie. It is, however, a ton of fun even if the roads here seem well paved from a story perspective. Rother and Whitehouse have decent chemistry but for me, the little characters in various scenes give the film life and energy. I do not like Logan Paul as a person…this made him utterly believable and a hot steaming 80’s asshole. Is Mae Whitman good in everything? Yes, yes she is. Including in this. Then there’s the biggest elephant in the room. The music. When it comes to the music there’s no denying it’s catchiness. They were hits for a reason.

Our Grade: B-, There’s something about a musical that I am a sucker for. Perhaps it’s the whimsy of it all that they can sing through anything. No matter their experience, no matter how dire a song is their greatest weapon. This is something understood here. I wish the atrocious Jem and the Holograms had been one iota as good as this it’d have been a success. This is by no means a world-changing film and if you don’t enjoy the music of the 80’s firstly what the hell is wrong with you. Secondly, this isn’t for you at all.