Some describe Valley of the Dolls as a work of cheap art, a “dirty soap opera” or a modern, contemporary melodrama stocked with cliches and contraband stereotypes, limiting the viewer’s capacity to appreciate quality, pure gold cinema. Others view it as a feminist, women-will-rule-the-world-one-day pioneer and groundbreaking piece of work, giving voice to a population of drug-fettered women who are often ignored, shunned, and deemed too incapable to live a life of quality and self-made/self-earned excellence. Yes, Valley of the Dolls is that rare feature for me that qualifies itself as both a work of trash and a work of class, with a consistent sprinkle of brilliance, or drug-induced mania, throughout -- always a certain recipe for any iconic, cult classic. And to go a little bit deeper, the work itself is as much a piece of feminist lore as it is an outstanding, distinct rebellion against traditional cinema. It conveys that restless sense of enthusiasm that many works of melodramatic fare engage in while communicating such conceptual matter from a strictly female perspective. This perspective, of course, is what strikes me as the most fascinating angle of the entire piece and is what brings me to write about it today. Specifically, each central female character experiences a series of traumas and a subsequent backlash of their respective ordeals, shocks, and mental afflictions -- how they deal with these strains is a different matter, but remain pertinent to the overall appearance of Valley of the Dolls. The escapist allure of drugs, or “dolls”, remains compelling, and a comprehension of the various traumas these female characters endure stand as requisite for a viewer’s understanding for their need to use ‘uppers’, ‘downers’, and various ‘stabilizers.’ So - what is it about Valley of the Dolls that evokes its longevity - its durability - and cinematic stamina, especially when so many question its qualifications as such an artistic piece? Well, I say its magnetism lies within its female perspective from a trio of beautiful, charismatic women (a natural recipe to draw in any crowd), and its inherent fearlessness in the face of feminine trauma and the escapist reality that drugs tend to provide in the face of such personal and external demons.
Valley of the Dolls is centered around three female characters pursuing their dreams and careers in the entertainment industry, opening with Anne’s departure from her New England town of Lawrenceville, Massachusetts - a sequence loaded with the subliminal vow that she will never return and little doubt of her success in New York, the locale to which she is headed. Upon her arrival in New York City, she begins working for a talent agency, meeting Neely O’Hara and Jennifer North in the process. All of the women become quick friends and discover that fame, good fortune, and its various obstacles may not have been worth its keen pursuit after all.
Each of these characters experiences a series of traumas and internal obstacles - beginning with O’Hara’s firing from the Broadway play of which she is a part. This leads to her eventual main role in a nightclub act and ultimate move to Hollywood, where she becomes a star. Her initial firing, though fairly meaningless at the time of its occurrence, sparks a subliminal, unconscious desire to escape from the realities of the effects of rejection and she goes to great lengths to alleviate the shock of such forced exclusion. Though this defense mechanism serves her well initially, provoking her drive to succeed as an actress and singer, it hurts her in the long term, as we see in her ultimate spiral into drugs and alcohol. Ultimately, she is committed to a sanitarium as her desire to escape the circumstances is too strong to face the definitive reality of her situation and deal with their consequences. We see this dynamic within Jennifer and Anne as well. Jennifer escapes from the realities of her circumstances through drugs, eventually committing suicide, whereas Anne does so in a more healthy, fact-facing manner.
Jennifer’s reliance on drugs or any need to escape her current realm of self-perceived dissatisfaction parallels the escapist need we see within O’Hara. It’s self-destructive, it’s self-damaging, and it’s self-harmful. The audience comprehends that Jennifer’s first series of traumas does not occur on-screen, but during her childhood, as we discover in the telephone conversations we witness between herself and her mother. Her mother’s continual requests for payment checks and incessant dismissals of Jennifer’s talents indicate that her unfortunate mental state was present before we meet Ms. North, unlike O’Hara and Anne, whose mental decline we witness firsthand. Jennifer’s condition continues to worsen as her relationship with Tony Polar deteriorates due to his own worsening mental and internal health. Her relationship with Polar not only exacerbates her own insecurities, but intensifies her crippling depression. Polar is committed to a sanitarium and, in order to pay his hospital bills, she is compelled to work in the soft core pornographic industry which, again, heightens her sense of self-uncertainty and doubt. To escape, she relies on her precious ‘dolls’ or drugs to assuage her personal demons and, ultimately, takes her own life as these hindrances become too much to handle.
The healthiest persona out of the three is Anne, who simply moves back home to Lawrenceville to cope with the traumas she witnesses and experiences in the entertainment industry. Her form of escape is not through dolls, but through relocation. Though Jennifer and Neely both relocate to L.A. after their time in New York, their movement is executed out of a desire to succeed rather than cope with a circumstance, as they rely on drugs to escape their traumas. Anne, however, experiences trauma that is much less than the hurtles and criticisms of the entertainment industry, but through her relationship with men, which, through her female perspective, is overcome-able through a move back home.
Each of these women experiences trauma. Each of these women has a means of escape. And each of these women offer differing ideas of what trauma is and particular formulations for a mental departure from such mental and emotional grievances. What sets them apart are the distinct and internal methodological procedures through which they survive their various tragedies. Yes, “Valley of the Dolls” is a portrait of a literal and figurative long-distance marathon of female endurance and aptitude, testing feminine will power, whether its through subordination, triumph, or rejection, and the ability or lack thereof to survive the menacing interpersonal and external discomforts of life’s inevitable obstacles.
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