Down in the Valley

by Randy Fuller May 20, 2026

Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, we have three views of valley life, with a wine pairing for each.

First, let’s go waaay down in the valley. The San Fernando Valley was home to a thriving pornography industry, back in the VHS days. 1997’s Boogie Nights chronicled that era with maybe just a splash of celebration. It was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who also co-produced it.

The film is a fascinating examination of 1970s SoCal porn. It provided Mark Wahlberg’s big splash into movie stardom and gave us Burt Reynolds as the porn producer in a riveting role. For me, the movie is worth it just for a two-second montage in which Reynolds makes a drink, calls his dealer and snorts a line. That’s some fine editing, there, friends.

La Fiorita is the Italian wine project of former porn star Natalie Oliveros. Her Fiore di NO Brunello Montalcino has accumulated an impressive sheaf of reviews, and it sells for more than $100.
https://www.lafiorita.com/en/prodotti/the-wines/7/vini/71/brunello-di-montalcino

Valley Girl starred Deborah Foreman and Nicolas Cage back in 1983 as star-crossed San Fernando Valley lovers. The movie’s one-sheet shows her pretty in pink and him bad in black. Well, as bad as a guy can look with no shirt and a necktie. It’s an okay movie and it was decently received by critics and the general public alike. However, the funniest thing about the movie is the blurb describing it as “loosely based on the tragedy Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.” That’s a bit of a reach. And did the blurb writer really think it was necessary to attribute Shakespeare?

The film probably drew more inspiration from the song “Valley Girl,” which was a hit the year before by Frank Zappa and his daughter Moon Unit, fer sure fer sure.

When a valley girl wants a great Cabernet Sauvignon, she turns to the north and grabs a bottle from Napa Valley. Castello di Amorosa has a great assortment, led by Il Barone at $110 a pop.
https://shop.castellodiamorosa.com/Shop/Reds

As if 1970 wasn’t weird enough, we have Beyond the Valley of the Dolls to make it even weirder. Reviled by critics upon its release, Beyond was eaten up by younger movie goers at the time. It has even won over some of its critics, who now see its satire in a better light.

Directed by Russ Meyer and co-written by him and Roger Ebert, this movie zips along like a pinball, bashing its ripped-from-real-life characters up against a script that was revised on the spur of every other moment. It’s got music, dime store psychedelia, shameless melodrama, drugs, and a jaundiced world view. Meyer felt that’s what the kids were looking for on the big screen, and he dished it up super-sized.

Valley of the Moon Winery makes a Sonoma County Chardonnay that sells for about $20. Buttery but balanced. Don’t make a habit of washing down your pills with it.