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Foxfire
Just over three years before Angelina Jolie’s Girl, Interrupted Oscar win, Foxfire director Annette Haywood-Carter cast the actor as Legs, a magnetic and androgynous drifter who unites four high school girls against a predatory teacher. An ensuing suspension gives the students—high-achieving Maddy, sexually uninhibited Violet, lonely and heroin-addicted Goldie, and anxious introvert Rita—ample downtime to bond in an abandoned river house. Subjectively capturing the elation and intensity of these unlikely friendships remains Foxfire’s strongest attribute. However, when the film came out 25 years ago, it flopped. Today, Foxfire resides somewhere between cult classic and curio: The Oregon setting still resonates cinematically, and its themes are even more relevant today. Streams on Hulu.
Valley Girl
Loosely based on Romeo and Juliet, this 1983 teen rom-com follows a preppy valley girl (Deborah Foreman) who falls for a rebellious punk from “Holly-weird” (Nicolas Cage, in his breakout leading role), despite objections from her haughty, shallow friends. Worth seeing for the ‘80s soundtrack alone, which has hits from the Psychedelic Furs, Men at Work and more. Open-Air Cinema at OMSI, 1945 SE Water Ave., 503-221-1156, nwfilms.org/films/valley-girl. 7:30 pm Thursday, Sept. 9. $20.
Comedy in the Park
Comedy and the outdoors typically don’t mix—ask anyone who’s tried to watch a standup set at a music festival. But this summer, Kickstand Comedy teamed up with Portland Parks & Rec to host biweekly, outdoor standup nights in Laurelhurst Park. Shows often start with a talent show of dogs behaving goodly and dogs behaving badly. It never fails to warm up the crowd for the eventual segue into a terrific curation of local and touring standup comedians. This installment will be the summer’s last park show, but keep an eye on Kickstand’s Instagram for both Friday’s lineup and future indoors events. Laurelhurst Park, Southeast César E. Chávez Boulevard and Stark Street, near Concert Grove. 6:30 pm Friday, Sept. 10. Free. See kickstandcomedy.org/laurelhurst for more information.
Wild Wild Christian
As a youth, Simone McAlonen spent a very bizarre summer at Christian camp. Even stranger, her camp was on the same land that the Rajneesh compound once occupied. Now, as an adult, Los Angeles comedian, writer, actress and Groundlings-trained sketch maker, McAlonen performs Wild Wild Christian—part memoir, part lighthearted commentary on dogmatic, insular communities—at the Siren Theater for three weekends of shows. Proof of COVID vaccination required for entry. The Siren Theater, 315 NW Davis St. 7 pm Friday-Saturday, through Sept. 25. $10.
Maita
The songs of Maria Maita-Keppeler are fragile and folky, but her sound is rooted in rock, with unexpected moments of toughness and eruptions of fiery energy. In 2020, her group Maita, which bears her name, released a debut full-length on Kill Rock Stars, Best Wishes. They then suddenly found themselves unable to go on their planned European tour to support it. Now Maita finally returns to the stage, and all you have to do is buy a ticket and show your vaccine card. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave, 503-288-3895, mississippistudios.com. 8 pm Saturday, Sept. 11. $10.
Golden Retriever
It’s been quite some time since Portland had the opportunity to get blissed to the bass clarinet and modular synth compositions and improvisations of Golden Retriever—long-standing duo Jonathan Sielaff and Matt Carlson. The years before the pandemic saw them crack Rolling Stone’s top 20 avant-garde albums of the year and focus on larger group collaborations. But for this show, they’ll play as an unadorned twosome once more—back to spacey basics. The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., 503-222-2031, theoldchurch.org. 7 pm Saturday, Sept. 11. $17.