Today I have the fantastic pleasure of hosting Jennifer Sturman as a guest blogger! Jennifer is the author of And Then Everything Unraveled and And Then I Found Out The Truth, both of which I have up for giveaway. (Have you not entered it? What ARE you waiting for? Go enter.)
And as I like my authors to have fun - and as I like you readers to have fun - I gave her full reign as to what she could post about.
And I have to say - her post is like no other guest post I've seen so far. I'm sure she had a lot of fun with it, and I had a lot of fun reading it.
Enjoy! And don't forget to enter the giveaway.
Valley Girl – Possibly the Best Teen Movie Ever
A writer playing favorites with her characters is probably like a mother playing favorites with her children – in other words, a total no-no – but I have to admit that I might enjoy spending time with some of my characters more than others. For example, Delia’s Aunt Charley (featured in And Then Everything Unraveled and its sequel, And Then I Found Out the Truth) and I both have a particular fondness for teen movie classics from the ‘80s – I’m pretty sure we’d have a great time hanging out.
As Charley would tell you, the best teen movies tend to share a few common elements: brilliant dialogue, amazing soundtracks, and truly astounding outfits. A prom scene denouement isn’t a must-have, but it can’t hurt. And though playing favorites with teen movie classics might also be a no-no, if forced to pick, both Charley and I would have to go with Valley Girl (1983). As Charley explains to Delia, “It has Nicolas Cage from before he got creepy, and you’re in luck, because I own it on both DVD and VHS.”
Here’s an example of the brilliant dialogue (trust me, it’s incredibly romantic on screen):
Julie: Where are we going to go?
Randy: I don't care.
Julie: What will we do?
Randy: Anything.
As for the outfits, words alone can’t do them justice, and none of the pictures I could find online does, either, but this should give you a taste:
Meanwhile, the soundtrack is where I first heard Modern English’s “I Melt With You.” It also includes The Plimsouls (playing a Hollywood club) and Josie Cotton (playing the Valley High Junior Prom). And yes, there is a prom scene, and it’s pretty much perfect – as is the whole movie.
If you can’t find a copy, let me know. It’s possible that a certain somebody besides Charley also owns it on both DVD and VHS…