Clueless

The only thing worse than the movie are the people who like it. Every time I meet someone who loves this movie, I mention that it was based on Jane Austin's "Emma". Then they usually reply with either "No it wasn't!" (in a high pitched Valley Girl squeal), or "Who's Jane Austin?". One lady thought that Jane Austin was a comic book artist. Now, this doesn't really suprise me, after looking at the main character, Cher (who doesn't doubt that Alicia Silverstone is actually like this is real life?) She spends all her time worrying about clothes and boys, instead of school or maybe getting a decent job. That also sums up most of America, now that I think about it.

Amy Heckerling knows how to make movies for teens. Clueless was not only a hit with teenagers but it launched fashions and a new vocabulary for teens to use. Its loosely based on Jane Austen's Emma but its vulgar sensuality and profanity will offend many. We see the wealthy Cher transform from spoiled to a down to earth character. That's all, there's no message except to being a better person. However the movie is a silly little piece of fluff. I wouldn't reccomend it. If you want to see a great film that's more true to Jane Austen's Emma, check out the 1996 film of Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow. Or if you're a teenager you might want to check out Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon. Its a much better movie than Clueless.

You know what I hate?L.A, stupid blonde bimbos, rich people, and humour that isn't funny no matter how frickin' hard it tries.That and a criminal waste of half-decent actors in what is really an act of puerile pantomime that has no right to be recorded on celluloid. This film throws all of those truly awful ingredients together in a steaming cocktail of really, really, bad stuff.It expects us to give empathy and sympathy to a stupid blonde biatch who thinks she is, like, really smart and falls in love with, in the following order, a moron, a gay guy, and her step-brother.But in all case this is outweighed by her love for herself. This film encourages blonde halfwits with walk-in wardrobes around the world to believe they have the power and right to do what they want and that they are superior.To countermand this I reccomend a mass-culling of all things blonde and teeny-boppy.Right now.

Just the other day I watched Heckerling's wonderful romantic comedy satire 'I Could Never Be Your Woman' and I thought I'd revisit 'Clueless'. The last time I saw it was 10 years ago and today I enjoyed it just as much. Heckerling's adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Emma' may appear like a fluffy teen flick on the surface but there is a lot more to it. It works on multiple levels and 'Clueless', in a way, is a social commentary as it reflects a reality that still exists in today's society. First of all, the teen life is very realistically portrayed albeit with a sarcastic tone (such as the striving for high grades, obsession with image and partying). It somewhat reminds me of 'Heathers' (another excellent teen satire). While 'Heathers' is a much darker film that looks at teens in the 1980s, 'Clueless' looks at the adolescents of the 90s. Moreover, Heckerling brilliantly uses different kid of comedies through one-liner and dialogue, situational, and slap stick. Then the class distinction too is cleverly demonstrated through the eyes of Cher. The characters too work on multiple levels. Cher appears to be a popular stuckup bimbo type lass but once Hecklerling allows us to dig a little deeper, we see that she is unintentionally manipulative and knows how to use her strength (her power of persuasion). Yet, she is good at heart and even though her initial intentions of getting the two teacher together was to get an A grade, she's happy with the outcome of her matchmaking and the acts that follow are with more sincere purpose. Tai too appears to be the dumb new girl but she is far more experienced than Cher and when opportunity strikes she makes a place for herself in 'society' (i.e, highschool). Alicia Silverstone plays the part as though it was made for her. She has the right looks, age, excellent dialogue delivery and is a total natural in performing. 'Clueless' was the film that made her an overnight star and a very promising actress however, unfortunately, her following movies have been disastrous and the actress rapidly vanished into oblivion. She is supported by an equally great cast that includes a goofy Breckin Meyer, a weirdly fashioned but still gorgeous Stacy Dash, a naive Brittany Murphy, a laidback Paul Rudd, a hilarious Donald Faison, a bitchy Elisa Donovan and a fire breathing Dan Hedaya. For me 'Clueless' is among the top teen films along with movies like 'Heathers'. Those who childishly dismiss it as a fluffy chick-flick don't know what they missed. I was watching '10 Things I Hate About You' which is an adaptation of Shakespeare's 'The Taming Of Thew Shrew' and while that film failed to engage me for the most parts, 'Clueless' succeeds in all departments because it's much more than just another teen flick. It's a highly entertaining satire and it's a nuanced teen comedy with a subtle social comment.