The USA channel recently played Clueless two days in a row. This was fine with me, because Clueless is one of my favorite modern movies. This is as much an escape movie as the Carmen Miranda musicals of WWII. The perfect movie if you want to kick back for some mindless entertainment.

Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) is one of the most popular girls at her Beverly Hills high school. Along with her friend, Dionne (Stacy Dash) her life revolves around clothes, boys, and driving. But, Cher is in for a few upsets to her self centered existance. First, there is the appearance of the new girl, Tai, (Brittany Murphy) which stirs up feelings of charity in Cher. (Charity consisting of teaching Tai the right way to talk and putting her through a Buns of Steel workout) Then there are her own boy troubles with the completely cool, but surprisingly unavailable Christian (Justin Walker), as well as her boring former stepbrother, Josh (Paul Rudd).

But, don't let me fool you. This is not a deep movie. It is unabashedly self centered and as fake as most of the bodies in Hollywood. But, it doesn't pretend to be anything it's not, and you can enjoy the ride for what it is. The script by Amy Heckerling is filled with slang terms. "As if! Bettys and Baldwins." Also, Cher's main goals are getting her license and losing her virginity. Even when they sneak in a mini subplot of Cher organizing a disaster relief fund, it's quickly grounded in the Clueless reality by having Cher decide to donate her athletic equipment.

School is also a fun place to be in the Clueless world. Students all wear designer clothes, make funny comments to the teachers, and argue their way to better grades.

Okay, some of you are saying what makes this anything but a bimbo flick? The star of the film, mainly. Alicia Silverstone, who previously had played the evil teenager in The Crush, showed great comedic talent. She ran the gamut of pseudo intellectualism to sexy kitten behavior, to plain old teenage whininess. This was her film, and while certainly no Chekov, it was one that she carried with style.

Another gem are the stereotypes, that may be a con in other films, but which I think work to this ones advantage. So, you girls who step out of fashion magazines everyday, and boys in baggy pants and baseball caps. You have teachers who are nerds, or as Cher says "and in the grand tradition of P.E. teachers, Ms. Stoger seemed to be same-sex oriented." I would say that this is a commentary on the fakeness of the world Cher inhabits and of life in Beverly Hills, but that would be adding a level of depth that is even faker than anything in the film.

I think of Clueless as a sort of 90's Breakfast Club. It's lighter fare, to be sure, but it's as rooted in the supposed life of the 90's as the other was in the 80's. Some people may want more sustenance, but for those of you who like an enjoyable time wasting flick, Clueless is for you.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older