Classic Review: Clueless (1995)

Few actors in the 90’s skyrocketed into Hollywood royalty as fast as Alicia Silverstone did with the release of Clueless. After a very successful wave as “the chick” in music videos, Silverstone was ready to bite some more elaborated material. And she didn’t disappoint.

When people talk about perfect casting, she is one of the best examples there is. Silverstone was born to play Cher, and she managed to make a completely, well… clueless character utterly adorable. Even when her character is saying or doing the most absurd things, which could make her turn into an unsympathetic character, Silverstone always managed to give her some extra flavor and tons of personality. It’s not really pointed out that much, but Silverstone made all the right choices here in Clueless as she made Cher’s journey totally authentic. And, to top all of that, she’s quite hilarious. What a breakout.

Cher and her best friend Dionne (Dash) are the most popular girls at a Los Angeles high school. They are both absurdly rich, with makes them totally disconnected from reality. Believing she can talk her way out of some bad grades, she decides to play matchmaker with two teachers, and when she meets the new odd girl in the school, Tai (Murphy), she realizes her mission in life is to help others, so she turns the ugly duckling into a swan. While doing so, Cher ends up falling in love with her stepbrother Josh (Paul Rudd) who came to town to stay with her and her father Mel (Dan Hedaya).

What made Clueless pop out from all the other teen comedies around is the same reason why Mean Girls and Easy A did years later: a script full of personality. The story is a complete rip off of Jane Austen’s Emma, with a very simple three act structure. Though what turns it into comedic gold is all the quips and quirks that Heckerling adds in. The film is a farce in its heart, and all the strangeness, the exaggeration and the craziness work to perfection mostly because the cast makes it so grounded. It’s a hard balance, especially if you consider none of these actors had much experience under them. But they all succeeded.

Dialogue is one of the highlights for sure. Clueless has a highly quotable script and some lines are just laugh out loud funny. Being a teenager at the time, it was hard to catch the film’s references and little details. Knowing the film pretty well, these moments were still surprising now 20 years later. Luckily, the film maintained its sharpness. Its personality and originality still shine very bright. The film is also lucky in another department. Despite certain aspects standing the test of time (the costumes, for example), they still work within the film’s unrealistic universe. Let’s face it: this is not a totally grounded group of teens. Besides all the qualities, the movie also gave us Hedaya (hilarious as the tough as nails father), Rudd (quite charming) and Murphy, so authentic as the new kid on the block. Watching her here, and remembering all she accomplished later in her career, it’s impossible not to miss her presence on the screen.

Clueless is turning 25 this year, and it’s the perfect choice for a nostalgic movie night.

still courtesy of Paramount Pictures

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