Clueless [M]

Cher “actually has a way normal life for a teenager”. Brought up by her rich father in a vast Beverly Hills manor, Cher spends most of time shopping, parading around in fashionable outfits with her best friend Dionne, and matchmaking two unhappy teachers. When a new girl named Tai arrives at her school, Cher immediately “adopts” her and makes her over in her own image, but soon some unexpected dramas occur as Tai becomes a Cher clone and basic control seems to slip out of Cher’s grasp. 

Loosely a modern adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, Clueless is a wonderful film that you can’t watch all the time, but once in a while, and each time you revisit it, you’re never disappointed. It’s filled with outrageous outfits, misread signals, biting comedy, and memorable performances. Earning its place in The Book, it’s a classic that should be in any film buff’s collection… well any girl buff’s collection at least. 

Cher “actually has a way normal life for a teenager”. Brought up by her rich father in a Beverly Hills manor, Cher spends most of her time shopping, parading around in fashionable outfits with her best friend Dionne, and matchmaking two unhappy teachers. When a new girl named Tai arrives at school, Cher immediately “adopts” her and makes her over in her own image, bringing her instant popularity. But soon some unexpected dramas occur, as Tai becomes a Cher clone and basic control seems to slip out of Cher’s grasp. 

As I mentioned before, Clueless is loosely based on Jane Austen’s tale of a vain heroine who finds great joy in planning and setting up romances between other people. But the film is also a very clever portrayal of a number of things. As the story harbours much of the romance, the comedy of the film is presented in the clever and biting satiric portrayal of the modern teenagers and makes some very funny jibes at fashion, education, language, and most importantly of all, egocentrism. The film is all about the teenagers, in particular rich and spoilt teenagers, and their complete lack of understanding of anything that doesn’t directly relate to or affect them. The entire world that this movie shows is just a bubble and it’s only through the character of Josh, Cher’s stepbrother that we are brought back to reality. 

Alicia Silverstone stars as Cher, the film’s heroine and seriously, no one could have done it better. She played the whiny, vain, and delightfully ditzy teenager role perfectly and even in her voiced-over monologues, no matter how many poetic phrases and big words she used, you just could not help but smile and giggle. She was absolutely brilliant and really made a name for herself in this film. 

Starring Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, Breckin Meyer, Twink Caplan, Justin Walker, Wallace Shawn, and Dan Hedaya, Clueless is a fantastic film that’s filled with outrageous outfits, great satire, matchmaking, romance, and epiphanies. It really is a classic and a great one to come back to from time to time.