Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Love in the time of big hair and neon

Three teen romances from the 1980s

A spaceship cruises Earth Girl Geena Davis
A spaceship cruises Earth Girl Geena Davis

Let’s return to a time when girl-power had more to do with romance than showing a male superhero that she can be his equal. Follow links to rent online.

Video:

Trailer for Valley Girl

Valley Girl (1983)

Sponsored
Sponsored

A savage on the outskirts of civilization (Nicolas Cage, at his unpredictably unhinged best) crosses into enemy territory to win the heart of a buckskin beauty (Deborah Foreman). Sounds like a western, right? It could be, were our Romeo not a Hollywood punk and his fair Juliet not a subject of Sherman Oaks. There’s an anomaly lurking within the DVD’s special features section. Ask a director if, during production, they could have predicted their soon-to-be-smash hit was going to score at the box office. Most will adopt a sheepish, “Aw, shucks” approach, saying, “It never once crossed my mind.” Not Martha Coolidge, who, without a hint of swagger, confesses, “I knew it was going to be big. I just felt that.” Colleen Camp and Frederic Forrest play Foreman’s totally tubular parents with an open-door manner not found in contemporary teen exploitation comedies. The same goes for the romance, which nowadays takes a back seat to derisory situations and patronizing yuks. Why the John Hughes catalog continually gets revived and not this is a question for the ages.

Video:

Trailer for Can't Buy Me Love

Can’t Buy Me Love (1987)

A winsome romantic charmer about a nerdy power-mower jockey with a bit of the pariah in him (Patrick Dempsey), who drops $1,000 to persuade the most popular girl in his class (Amanda Peterson) to pretend they’re an item. Director Steve Rash came out of the gate swinging with his successful biopic The Buddy Holly Story, only to have his follow-up picture, the ill-fated Munchkins romp Under the Rainbow, leave a crater at the box office. In this, his third effort, Rash saw a delightful return to form. It also has the distinction of being one of the few applause-worthy pictures released by Touchstone Pictures, Disney’s otherwise limp distribution arm created to take on projects that were more adult in nature. The conclusions reached by the Tucson twosome are the stuff after-school specials are made of, but getting there is more than half the fun.

Video:

Trailer for Earth Girls are Easy

Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)

Most aliens come to earth armed with the cunning it takes to level cities. Excluding their ability to generate more body fur than Ed Asner, the only other-worldly skill our trio of Technicolor extraterrestrials (Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey, and Damon Wayans) appears to possess is the “love touch,” a superpower that causes anyone they tap to fall head-over-heels. Earth Girls continues to cast the same feeling of ebullience thirty years after its release. Long before the term “genre mashup” became popular, Julien Temple — the cinematic house of worship who brought us Absolute Beginners — whipped up this frothy blend of sci-fi, romance, musical numbers, and teen romcom. Goldblum and Geena Davis were a red hot item during the production and their passion inflames every frame. Co-Earth Girl Julie Brown had a hand in both script and songs. How can you go wrong with lyrics like, “If you want to be a femme fatale, you can’t rest on your L’Oreal” or her show-stopping production number, ‘Cause I’m a Blonde?

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon
A spaceship cruises Earth Girl Geena Davis
A spaceship cruises Earth Girl Geena Davis

Let’s return to a time when girl-power had more to do with romance than showing a male superhero that she can be his equal. Follow links to rent online.

Video:

Trailer for Valley Girl

Valley Girl (1983)

Sponsored
Sponsored

A savage on the outskirts of civilization (Nicolas Cage, at his unpredictably unhinged best) crosses into enemy territory to win the heart of a buckskin beauty (Deborah Foreman). Sounds like a western, right? It could be, were our Romeo not a Hollywood punk and his fair Juliet not a subject of Sherman Oaks. There’s an anomaly lurking within the DVD’s special features section. Ask a director if, during production, they could have predicted their soon-to-be-smash hit was going to score at the box office. Most will adopt a sheepish, “Aw, shucks” approach, saying, “It never once crossed my mind.” Not Martha Coolidge, who, without a hint of swagger, confesses, “I knew it was going to be big. I just felt that.” Colleen Camp and Frederic Forrest play Foreman’s totally tubular parents with an open-door manner not found in contemporary teen exploitation comedies. The same goes for the romance, which nowadays takes a back seat to derisory situations and patronizing yuks. Why the John Hughes catalog continually gets revived and not this is a question for the ages.

Video:

Trailer for Can't Buy Me Love

Can’t Buy Me Love (1987)

A winsome romantic charmer about a nerdy power-mower jockey with a bit of the pariah in him (Patrick Dempsey), who drops $1,000 to persuade the most popular girl in his class (Amanda Peterson) to pretend they’re an item. Director Steve Rash came out of the gate swinging with his successful biopic The Buddy Holly Story, only to have his follow-up picture, the ill-fated Munchkins romp Under the Rainbow, leave a crater at the box office. In this, his third effort, Rash saw a delightful return to form. It also has the distinction of being one of the few applause-worthy pictures released by Touchstone Pictures, Disney’s otherwise limp distribution arm created to take on projects that were more adult in nature. The conclusions reached by the Tucson twosome are the stuff after-school specials are made of, but getting there is more than half the fun.

Video:

Trailer for Earth Girls are Easy

Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)

Most aliens come to earth armed with the cunning it takes to level cities. Excluding their ability to generate more body fur than Ed Asner, the only other-worldly skill our trio of Technicolor extraterrestrials (Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey, and Damon Wayans) appears to possess is the “love touch,” a superpower that causes anyone they tap to fall head-over-heels. Earth Girls continues to cast the same feeling of ebullience thirty years after its release. Long before the term “genre mashup” became popular, Julien Temple — the cinematic house of worship who brought us Absolute Beginners — whipped up this frothy blend of sci-fi, romance, musical numbers, and teen romcom. Goldblum and Geena Davis were a red hot item during the production and their passion inflames every frame. Co-Earth Girl Julie Brown had a hand in both script and songs. How can you go wrong with lyrics like, “If you want to be a femme fatale, you can’t rest on your L’Oreal” or her show-stopping production number, ‘Cause I’m a Blonde?

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Trump names local supporter new Border Czar

Another Brick (Suit) in the Wall
Next Article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader