EDITOR’S NOTE: The Vals was on USA Up All Night on April 12 and 13 and November 15, 1991; April 25, 1992 and February 26, 1993.

Sam (Jill Carroll, Psycho II), Trish (Elena Stratheros), Beth (Michelle Laurita, who danced in Footloose and went on to be the cinematographer on Alanis Morrisette’s videos for “You Oughta Know,” “Jagged Little Pill” and “You Learn” as well as directing that last song’s video as well as “Head Over Feet”) and Annie (Gina Calabrese, The Dungeonmaster, Vicious Lips) are Valley Girls who decide to help Mr. Stanton (John Carradine) keep his house for orphaned boys.

They also get mixed up with the drug dealing Lance (Michael Leon) and Stone (Robert Dyer, Savage Streets), as well as battle the Bevs, girls from the other side of town. Plus Chuck Connors plays Trish’s producer dad who loves the cocaine, he’s on a plane with cocaine and yes Chuck is all lit up again. Sonny Bono plays a “spaced-out musician,” Tiffany Bolling is Sam’s mom (and you thought the MILF in these movies was first in American Pie), Shirley Rothman is Trish’s mother (and also co-wrote the script) and Sharana Lee from Gymkata is a rival Valley Girl.

The Vals was directed by James Polakof, who also made Demon Rage, and co-wrote this with Deborah Amelon, who went on to write Parent Trap III, and Rothman.

Obviously, this is unfairly compared to Valley Girl. It had the title Valley Girls before that movie was released. It was actually filmed first and went unreleased, but when that movie did well, it was finally put out. It doesn’t have the same level of soundtrack, as it features the bands Annine, Daphna Edwards and Unicorn Gang, Wet Picnic and Frankie Bleu. It didn’t even get to film at Sherman Oaks Mall, instead taking place in a secondary shopping plaza in Stockton, CA, the Weberstown Mall. Unlike so many malls, it’s still in business.

This movie is way better than it needs to be.

You can watch this on YouTube.