Clueless

Clueless

This is another big, basic movie that I can finally check off my list.

Using Jane Austen's Emma as a blueprint, this is often referred to as the original Mean Girls, which is definitely not a stretch, but I don't think quite nails it. Where Mean Girls is an out-right comedy jam-packed with jokes, Clueless is subtler and often feels more like a study on its subjects: wealthy Los Angeles teenagers in the mid-1990's.

Some spoilers for a movie from 1995.

As someone who has never been a wealthy Los Angeles teenager in the mid-1990's, I can only speculate on its accuracy, but most people from that time seemed to agree that writer/director Amy Heckerling pretty much nailed it. The dialogue is often an impressive tightrope act of having the characters sound dumb while actually delivering some really clever jokes. These teens aren't quite dumb on the level of other smart-dumb characters like Homer Simpson or Michael Scott, they're just ignorant due to being raised as one-percenters. They still have emotions and problems that most high schoolers will relate to, they just also have fancy clothes, houses, and cars that none of them know how to drive. Heckerling also made Fast Times at Ridgemont High, so making stories that high schoolers can relate to isn't exactly a difficult task for her. It also helps that Austen works great in a high school setting because her books typically center around class and tangled love triangles (cards on the table, I have yet to actually read any of her books, but I know these are their very basic tropes), so it doesn't feel unnaturally forced into a different story like some Shakespearean adaptations can. While they are exaggerated, they do still feel like real teens.

The cast is very good, with Alicia Silverstone somehow playing her character without any judgement or irony, the late Brittany Murphy being effortlessly lovable, Breckin Meyer and Donald Faison giving funny performances that are also different from their more typical roles, Wallace Shawn being Wallace Shawn, and Paul Rudd just being adorable. Silverstone and Rudd ending up together is a little weird for a couple different reasons, namely the real-life age difference between the actors (Rudd being 26 and Silverstone only 18) and it's completely glossed over, but it doesn't ruin the movie or really raise that much of a red flag. Justin Walker is a bit of a standout in terms of both how charismatic he was, and how he's in no way a gay stereotype. Obviously this is to later make his sexual orientation a twist, but it's still nice to see a 90's gay character that doesn't fall into the usual behavior and cheap gags that lesser movies would go for.

The soundtrack is all over the place, but in kind of a good way. They've got some 90's movies staples like "Kids in America" by the Muffs and "Shoop" by Salt-N-Pepa, but then they used Radiohead TWICE, which nearly made me have a heart attack caused by unexpected joy. There's also a photo montage set to Supergrass, another wildly out-of-the-blue britpop favorite, and then possibly the weirdest musical cameo that could be in this movie: an actual Mighty Mighty Bosstones concert. I understand that ska was big in the 90's, especially in California, but that still seems a little too niche for Cher and her friends to be into. Shouldn't they like Madonna or Hootie & the Blowfish? Something a little more mainstream? I don't know, I was just delighted by the oddness of that choice.

I won't say much more, since it pretty much speaks for itself and most people have already seen it. It's totally solid. Not phenomenal or groundbreaking, but very entertaining. If I had a group of friends who wanted to watch it, I would absolutely be down to watch it again.

Oh, and it's weird that the kids are invited to their teachers' wedding. Has anybody talked about that?