Hey!
So in honor of the 20th anniversary of Clueless, this was what I watched this week! Twenty years ago this was a huge hit and even today there is a cult following. No one thought a teen movie based off of Jane Austen’s novel Emma would be this successful. There is even a book written about making the movie called As If!:The Oral History of Clueless as Told by Amy Heckerling and the Cast and Crew, which came out in July and is available on Amazon. I may have purchased this and will read it soon haha 🙂 Now I wish I already read it so I could include things from the book!
This movie is about Cher, a rich Beverly Hills 16-year-old, and how she deals with high school and boys. The plot follows her popular friend circle and the newly transformed new-girl Tai. Cher “selflessly” does a makeover on her with her BFF Dionne. Cher must also deal with her ex-stepbrother Josh visiting on college break and having to drive with him everywhere since she is licenseless. She lives with her father,a lawyer, who has taught her to argue her problems away which results in her arguing with her teachers to raise her grades. I fully understand how this movie is a cult classic. There are too many one-liners to count and people STILL quote the movie today!
Slight Spoilers: But honestly if you haven’t seen this movie yet I don’t feel bad for spoiling it haha you’ve had 20 years!!!
It also helps that there is an all-star cast in this movie. I think Paul Rudd is like a mythical creature or something since he never ages. He looks exactly the same as he did 20 years ago haha And you have Alicia Silverstone who didn’t even have to audition for the role! She’s perfect as Cher. Brittany Murphy (RIP) plays new-girl Tai who is awesome as the naive one who then takes over as the most popular girl in school. Donald Faison (Scrubs alum) plays Murray, Dionne’s BF, who flashes his metal mouth and calls Dionne “woman” on the regular even though she constantly tells him not to haha It’s funny every time.
Can I just say how much I love Paul Rudd again. He was awesome in Ant Man (see it!!!) He plays the likeable guy very well so I am only hoping he is this likable in real life! Also even though Cher gets everything she wants and is very popular you still love her character because Silverstone pulls it off in a not annoying way. Then you have Wallace Shawn (Princess Bride, Inconceivable!!!) who plays Mr. Hall. Cher sets him up with fellow teacher Miss Geist in order to raise her grades in those classes. This is where the Emma match-making is from. She also tries to set up her friend Elton with Tai which backfires since Elton likes her and Tai only likes him because she thinks he likes her. Oh high school.
I love how clever this movie is too. There are several indications that Christian is gay before Murray tells Cher that he is. IMDB cites that when you first meet him there is a newspaper on the bulletin board that has a newspaper clipping saying “On the Road to Nowhere”. Also he is reading a book called Junky by William S. Burroughs since the author was reportedly a homosexual. When Christian calls Cher he is at a museum in front of a painting where two men are embracing. Cher usually doesn’t waste her time with high school boys but she thinks Christian is good-looking and different. Of course this is before she realizes she loves Josh AKA Paul Rudd!!!
Like I said before, Clueless is still popular. Iggy Azalea’s music video Fancy is said to use Clueless as a template. There was also a TV show and several books that came about from this movie. Plaid sales went up after the release and of course people began using the sayings from the movie like “As If”, “Totally buggin”, “Haul Ass”, “Way Harsh”, and “Whatever” while making your hands into a W.
So haul ass and see this movie immediately if you haven’t already. You will totally be buggin’ afterwards about how awesome it is. If you don’t like it then we can’t be friends. Whatever 😉
“Dionne and I were both named after famous singers of the past, who now do infomercials.” ~ Cher from Clueless
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