The Dryden will screen Valley Girl (Martha Coolidge, U.S. 1983, 99 min., 35mm).

Equally inspired by Romeo and Juliet and Porky's, Valley Girl envisions its star-crossed lovers in Southern California in the 1980s, where a cultural rift between suburbs and city stops at the beach. Personas shed for bathing suits, Julie (Deborah Foreman), a preppie from the Valley, locks eyes with Randy, a remarkably persistent Hollywood punk portrayed by Nicolas Cage in his first significant role. The heavy uncertainty of Julie's decision whether to leave behind her social status along with her dumb jock boyfriend is weighed in clubs along the Sunset Strip and to the nostalgic reverie of its iconic New Wave soundtrack. Cleverly evading the pratfalls of a teenage prom-com, Valley Girl is a tender exploration of self and city in the name of love.

[source: George Eastman Museum website, 2016-Jul-18]