Clueless - "Whatever!" Edition

Light as a cupcake but capturing, in its carefree way, the 90s zeitgeist, Clueless is probably what a lot of teen films aspire to be. It succeeds where many fail because it has a smart, witty script and kind approach to its characters. Its only real flaw is that it ends just as it's beginning: it's mostly first and no second act, so just as the story's problems are developing - soured friendships, work crises etc. - it immediately resolves them to have a nice scene before the credit roll. But despite that, Clueless is an excellent piece of escapist comedy. Those who allege that it's too superficial miss the point. Like Jane Austen's Emma, which it borrows its basic narrative from, Clueless seeks humour and romance in an insular world, and in my opinion finds them.Alicia Silverstone plays Cher, a Beverly Hills high schooler who lives in luxury and doesn't have sharp eyes for consequence, but is a charming girl whose shallowness hides intelligence. Her best friend is Dionne (Stacey Dash), and together they "adopt" a socially clueless classmate, Tai (the late Brittany Murphy), to turn her into a popular girl. This charitable endeavour is inspired by Cher's newfound matchmaking abilities, though she doesn't seem to realise a budding affection in her own life, between herself and her idealistic ex-stepbrother, Josh (Paul Rudd).Silverstone is perfect as Cher because she manages to balance adorability with silliness. Cher's a sheltered rich girl, but she's sweet and clever in a way which a lot of similar characters from other teen films aren't. Her dad (Dan Hedaya) is a gruff but deeply caring man and Josh is capably played by Rudd, who's made a career playing flawed nice guys. Murphy was a gifted comic actress, so watching her, in the light of her death, is somewhat bittersweet. Breckin Meyer plays a kind stoner, and Jeremy Sisto a popular boy. Donald Faison, best known as Dr. Chris Turk on Scrubs, plays a similar but broader character here; he's Dionne's boyfriend. Noted actor and playwright Wallace Shawn shows up as a lonely teacher, and is typically great.Plenty of delightful romantic confusions keep Clueless rolling, like Cher's doomed "seduction" of a handsome classmate (Justin Walker). The script is packed with dialogue much subtler and funnier than it needs to be, as when Cher says: "Isn't my house classic? The columns date all the way back to 1972." At its core Clueless is a gentle satire of 90s teenage culture, just as Emma was a satire of early 19th-century middle-class culture. It's featherlight almost to a fault and doesn't care about drama so much as funny lines spoken by nice people. Sometimes that's all I want from a film. There's a great, unspoken misunderstanding that romantic comedies need to be stupid. Clueless, which is smarter than a new pin, proves that notion wrong.

Such a timeless movie

Arguably (teen) humour films are the only thing American directors and scriptwriters do well, there being many examples of the genre deserving of praise that come readily to mind. Although "Clueless" was apparently a slow-burner, being largely ignored by (American) audiences on its release, it could be claimed to be the apotheosis of the genre with a good plot, whimsically humorous dialogue and a delightfully talented cast, particularly Alicia Silverstone who delivers all her lines with the, apparently genuine, naivite demanded by the script. The film is multi layered and probably rather too sophisticated for American audiences, hence its initial failure. Alicia Silverstone gave, at the time, an outstanding performance of the quintessentially spoiled-rotten, middle-class, eye-candy daughter, untouched by and with absolutely no understanding of life's vicissitudes. Completely clueless, as in the title. A truly delightful film.

I heard about this film and thought I'd give it a go. Really enjoyed it actually.

This is a film that i feel every girl should watch at a sleep over with her friends or when she's feeling a bit down. It makes fun of the 'important things' that we stree about, making you realise that they're not as worrying. Its a real feel good comedy that got me through a lot of my teenage troubles. I find it sumblimaly teaches you not to try and change people, to follow your instincts when it comes to guys, to take care of your parents and to just feel good about being you as your worth it.I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, lighthearted, feel good movie! One i'm very happy to have in my 1000+ collection!

This is one of those classic films that stand the test of time. With the Blu-ray version having a some extra in the Special Features section. Already have the DVD and now have it on Blu-ray yippee. Obviously I recomend it, Even though the film was set in America and me here in the UK, have lived through that era. Even if traditions in "Highschool" in the US totally totally differ from ours in the UK, I still loved the film for what it was, and the new-comers to the film industry. Pure light Hearted romantic comedy. Have fun and let it lift your day into a smile.

Not really aged well. Some funny moments, but overall, a bit too much of it's time.

Fully packaged works perfect