The Valley Girls (referred to as such by David Lynch on set, as seen in the Lynch 2 documentary) are a group of mysterious, presumably supernatural girls who appear to Sue, alternately acting as Greek chorus, spirit guides, friends, and mocking bullies. They ultimately seem to have Sue's best interests at heart, and help her bring about the demise of the Phantom. They appear as a group of women hanging around Sue's house, then as a group of drug-addicted prostitutes on Hollywood Boulevard, following Sue's trajectory. They repeatedly use the phrase, "Look at us and tell us if you've known us before."
Characters[]
Lanni (Emily Stofle) appears frequently with Lori. They both act as Sue's guides in her first vision of Poland, and also sit together at Sue and Smithy's backyard party. She is sympathetic during Kari's breakup, saying it's not easy to find someone else when you feel like shit. However, when the girls appear as prostitutes, she appears to have a hard edge and frequently laughs insanely, perhaps as a result of drug withdrawal. She is cruel to Lori, and when the other girls scream at Sue's murder, Lanni laughs as she runs away.
Terri (Jordan Ladd) only appears in the first two sequences, in Sue's house.
Lori (Kristen Kerr) appears frequently with Lanni. In Sue's house, she appears playful and sarcastic. However, when the girls appear as prostitutes, Lori seems sad and broken and is suffering from drug withdrawal.
Chelsi (Terryn Westbrook) frequently seems amused by what is going on around her while in Sue's house. When the girls are prostitutes, she has a bossy take-charge personality, although Lanni in particular does not respect her.
Sandi (Jamie Eifert) appears in Sue's house, and later returns in the end credits sequence.
Dori (Kathryn Turner) is somewhat self-absorbed and a know-it-all. While the other girls try to help Kari through her breakup, Dori unsympathetically says she saw it coming, then says, "He's gone. Find someone else."
Kari (Michelle Renea) goes through a breakup and is depressed. She appears only in the first two sequences, in Sue's house.
Salli (Wendy Rhodes) appears in the second sequence in Sue's house, and again in the end credits sequence. During the "Locomotion" sequence, she has a white bandage on her right wrist and hand, similar to the Second Visitor, who has her left wrist and hand wrapped.
Tammi (Mikhaila Aaseng), like Salli, appears in the second sequence in Sue's house and again in the end credits sequence. She spontaneously sings a line from "The Locomotion" shortly before the dance sequence breaks out.
Roxi (Charlene Harding) first appears as a prostitute in the Hollywood Boulevard sequence, and returns in the end credits sequence. She does not have any lines.
Mandi (Suzette Belouin) appears as a prostitute in the Hollywood Boulevard sequence and returns in the end credits sequence. She does not have any lines.
Things That Happened[]
The Valley Girls first appear to Nikki/Sue shortly after she becomes trapped in the world of the film. She walks into the red lamp room in her house; the lamp shorts out after showing her an image of Billy, and seven of the Valley Girls appear in darkness, highlighted as they speak with a flashlight (Lanni, Terri, Lori, Chelsi, Sandi, Dori and Kari). Lanni says, "Look at us and tell us if you've known us before." Kari, Lori, Chelsi, Lanni and Dori then speak about a man with whom they were all sexually involved. Lanni and Chelsi talk about a "little shaking thing" he did when he was "you know." Dori says she let him do anything. They might be talking about Billy, as Sue begins crying. They then tell Sue, "In the future, you will be dreaming, in a kind of sleep. When you open your eyes, someone familiar will be there." Sue covers her face, and when she uncovers it, she is in Poland. Lanni and Lori are there.
Lanni: This is the street.
Lori: Do you want to see?
Lanni: Just down the way.
Sue then receives a communication from the Lost Girl, and returns to her house. Lanni and Lori open the window curtain, revealing a snowy Polish street below.
Another day, the Valley Girls (all of the prior seven, plus Salli and Tammi) lounge around in Sue's house talking Kari through a breakup. Sue does not speak, but follows the conversation closely and seems to enjoy the bonding. They note that "tonight will be good," and Lori says, "There's always a chance with tits like yours, Kari." Tammi sings a line from "The Locomotion": "You gotta swing your hips now." Lanni then flashes the girls, saying, "These are gonna bring 'em in like Flynn." The girls all compliment Lanni's breasts, then break into a spontaneous dance number to Little Eva’s “The Locomotion.” The song stops abruptly and the girls disappear.
Later that night, the girls dance to Etta James's "At Last" in the dark in Sue's darkened house.
Lanni and Lori attend Sue and Smithy's backyard party. They seem to be unaware of their prior interactions with Sue. When Sue says, "Look at me and tell me if you've known me before," Lanni and Lori seem to think Sue is somewhat crazy. Lanni responds, "Yes, we will do that." Chelsi is also at the party.
Lanni and Lori appear superimposed over Sue's visions of the woman who killed the Lost Girl's lover, asking, "Who is she?"
The girls (Lanni, Lori, Chelsi, Dori, Sandi and Tammi) hang out in Sue's living room while David Lynch's "Walkin' on the Sky" plays.
The girls dance behind Sue while she sits in her living room in a bathrobe, depressed. Strange flashing lights seem to transport her to...
Hollywood Boulevard, where Sue is now hanging out with a group of prostitutes, including Lanni, Lori, Dori, Chelsi, Roxi, Mandi, and two others. When Sue realizes that Doris is trying to kill her, she begs Chelsi for help, but Chelsi is on a payphone trying to score drugs, and shoos Sue away. Some of the other girls, including Lori, appear to be going through drug withdrawal. Lanni laughs madly, triggering a transition to old world Poland, where Lanni and Lori are dressed in period clothing. Lost Girl mockingly says to them, in Polish, "Look at me and tell me if you've known me before." Lori jokingly wiggles her finger at Lost Girl.
Later, Sue comes back to Hollywood Boulevard, and the girls ask where she has been. Sue sees Doris stalking her across the street and yells that someone is there, but the girls only laugh at her. When Sue takes out her screwdriver, the girls know that trouble is coming and disperse. Doris runs up and grabs the screwdriver, stabbing Sue. The girls run away screaming (Lanni giggles).
After Nikki kills the Phantom, Lanni and Lori joyously run down the hallway outside the Lost Girl's room hand in hand.
Chelsi, Tammi, Roxi, Dori, Lanni, Sandi, Lori, Salli and Mandi dance in Nikki's mansion in the end credits sequence.
More Things That Happened (Deleted Scenes)[]
Sandi flies a remote controlled flying saucer toy in Sue's living room while Lanni shoots it with a flashlight. The two are extremely amused; Sue is in the kitchen sadly washing glasses in the sink. The saucer crashes into the wall and falls to the floor.
Flashes of the girls dancing are seen in a flashing light effect as Sue sits in her living room in the dark.
Lanni, Lori, Chelsi and Dori, in their "prostitute" personas, are the subject of a lengthy deleted scene on Hollywood Boulevard. The girls are trying to score drugs. Dori is on the pay phone with a dealer, Gino. Chelsi stands next to her, telling her what to say. They promise to hook Gino up like last time, and emphasize that they don’t want “none of that dirty shit.” Lanni and Lori are by the street. Chelsi calls over for Lanni to bring the pocketbook. Lori is wandering into the street, seeming very spaced-out. Chelsi drinks liquor from a bottle. Dori tells Gino that if he doesn’t get here now, they’ll call Jay. Chelsi notices Lori wandering into traffic and asks, “What the fuck is she doing?” Chelsi demands that Lanni give her fifty cents or a calling card, and angrily says that she loaned Lanni fifty cents yesterday. Lanni takes Chelsi’s liquor bottle. They yell. Lori screams at them to shut the fuck up. Chelsi then yells back and forth at Lori.
Chelsi begins going through the pocketbook. Lanni laughs hysterically and says, “Look! It’s not there! It’s not there!” Lanni goes to the street side. She laughs, cries, then laughs. Chelsi has spilled the pocketbook; there are cigarettes all over the sidewalk. Lori approaches a car and leans in the window, but they drive off. Chelsi is angry that the fifty cents isn’t in the pocketbook. Lanni laughs hysterically. Chelsi yells, “You think this is funny?” Chelsi arranges the cigarettes in neat rows on the sidewalk, then starts doing something with white pieces of paper (possibly unrolling cigarettes). Lori shoves Lanni, and they start going at each other. Lanni laughs. The liquor bottle falls and breaks in the street. Lori apologizes; Lanni walks away, spitefully ignoring her. Lanni gets a customer and climbs into the car. They drive off. Lori looks worried, pointing after Lanni.
The car returns later; Lanni runs out, elated that she got fifty euros. Chelsi is angry that they didn’t pay her with American money. Dori and Lori are elated to have the money; then Lori becomes sad.
More Things That Happened ends with footage of Sue sitting in the living room with Kari, Lanni, Terri, Dori, Chelsi and Lori.
Another deleted scene was released exclusively on Room to Dream, a promo DVD sold with ProTools editing software. The scene shows Lanni and Lori sitting in Smithy's backyard with Koz Kakawski.
Trivia[]
- Emily Stofle married David Lynch in 2009, and they have a daughter together. Stofle, an aspiring actress and self-professed “huge fan” of Lynch’s work, was introduced to Lynch in February 2003 by her neighbor, director Eli Roth. At that time, she modeled for a couple of photoshoots for him. (Source: Room to Dream, David Lynch and Kristine McKenna, 2018, Random House, pp. 415-16.) She subsequently acted in several other Lynch productions for his website, notably the Out Yonder short "Neighbor" as the neighbor and the short Boat as the narrator. When Lynch was screening Boat for Stofle in December 2004, he kissed her, and subsequently cast her as Lanni in INLAND EMPIRE; she was also part of the INLAND EMPIRE construction team. (Source: Room to Dream, David Lynch and Kristine McKenna, 2018, Random House, p. 419) She went on to appear in the 2010 Lynch-directed Dior short Lady Blue Shanghai as a business associate of Marion Cotillard's character. She also makes a brief but notable appearance in Part 14 of the 2017 season of Twin Peaks as Sophie.
- Jordan Ladd is the daughter of Charlie's Angels star Cheryl Ladd, and the granddaughter of the Golden Age movie star Alan Ladd. She starred in The Darkened Room, a short on David Lynch's website which inspired several aspects of INLAND EMPIRE. In the short, she played a role similar to the Lost Girl.