Clueless

Clueless

Now there are teen movies and there are teen movies. Clueless, a $20 million release from the summer of 1995 is one of the latter, bristling with:

"...My mom died when I was just a baby, a freak accident during a routine liposuction..."

Clueless trailer

Yet dig just ever so slightly and you're watching one of those timeless comedies and in this particular era, our heroine is a seemingly vacuous, rich girl, Cher (Alicia Silverstone), whose relentless drive for perfection includes mix'n'matching her outfits via state-of-the-art computer software (remember, this is The Nineties), and only then having her mechanised cupboard deliver them to her.

Her best friend is beautiful black airhead, Dionne.

At 16, these teens have a world dominated by four most important things in Life:

While Dionne still remains, "technically", a virgin, Cher remains untouched:

Of course, selling this character to an audience mightn't have worked with the wrong actress but Silverstone turns in the one great performance of her career, vane, blinkered but never obnoxious and ultimately, innocent, vulnerable and kind-hearted.

The supporting cast, too, all hand in excellent performances, in particular, Cher's lawyer father (Dam Hedaya), who warns Cher's gentleman caller, Christian (Justin Walker):

Clueless is a smart, sophisticated comedy that still holds its own 10 years after its release. It brings a gentleness and sophistication far supeior to any recent teen movie and unfortunately makes its nearest competitor, Legally Blonde, seem shabby and derivative.

Oh, and the plot? Clueless is a 90's version of Jane Austen's Emma. You haven't read it? Whateverrrrr! Clueless is sly, it's superficial, it's silly, it's witty, it's corny. You got a problem with that?

Clueless DVD

"...Although I am way past my teen years, I still enjoy them very much. This movie embodies, for me, teen romance movie perfection. It's witty, it's well acted, it's a satiric look at a certain teen culture (spoiled teens with too much money) and the script is wonderful..." Amazon reviewer Carol Mello

"...This disgusting film whitewashes the shallow, depressing reality that is our youth culture, as we watch two underaged sexpot cupids trade on their trashy clothes and jailbait tauntings, to do such honorable things as matchmaking ugly people together..." Amazon reviewer colaboy

"...this was, like, the most awesomest thing they could have ever done to commemorate the most awesome movie on the planet...(and)... it was awesome to see all the extras, and all the info about the book, and movie and stuff..." Amazon reviewer erickajen

Clueless soundtrack

Clueless poster

N.B.: The latest edition of Clueless, the "Whatever" edition comes with extensive extras that seems to have had contributions from everyone except star, Alicia Silverstone, herself, which is both interesting and a shame.

see also:

• wikipedia Clueless