Army Heckerling's Movie Clueless: a Study Of The Character Cher

Clueless

From the moment viewers hear Cher (Alicia Silverstone) say, “So, okay. You’re probably like, what is this? A Noxzema commercial or what?”, viewers know that this movie is going to be witty and crazy. Clueless, directed by Amy Heckerling, is a teen chick-flick that is perfect to watch when viewers just want a good laugh. Not only is this movie a classic, it is the basis for the music video to Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”, as well as a TV sitcom that aired for three seasons.

The story, based loosely on Jane Austen’s Emma, fails to disappoint us. With actors such as Alicia Silverstone (Cher), Stacey Dash (Dionne), Brittany Murphy (Tai), and Paul Rudd (Josh), this movie encaptures the life of pampered teenagers in Beverly Hills, California.

The movie follows Cher Horowitz around during the time period of a few weeks, showing the audience her crazy life as a teenager in Beverly Hills. From arguing her way to an A in debate clas,s to fighting with her half-brother (who she makes sure we know is not her real brother), Cher’s life is jam-packed.

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She even plays matchmaker several times, despite the fact that she has no dating experience at all. Cher does not date high school boys, as she says they are immature. Then, she sees Christian and everything changes. It is too bad Christian is not attracted to her, or any other female for that matter. Not only is Cher a matchmaker, but she is also a makeover guru.

Early on in the movie, Cher takes on the project of turning a tom-boy, Tai, into a respectable teenage girl who any guy (high school or college) would want to date. She makes Tai read books and do workouts. Even though Cher has never been in a relationship herself, she tells Tai that she cannot date a guy that she has her eye on because he is not a “cool” guy, even though they are a match made in heaven. Cher’s plan works perfectly until Tai becomes more popular than she is, and Cher begins to regret helping Tai in the first place. Tai even ends up trying to date Cher’s half-brother Josh, but never ends up with him. Words are exchanged, feelings are hurt, and a friendship is temporarily ruined. In the end, Tai and Cher end up friends again, and everybody goes on to finish out their years in high school and move onto adulthood.

Alicia Silverstone is the perfect person to play Cher. I could not see anybody else spitting out witty lines such as, “We’re both named after singers of the past who now do infomercials,” or “Billie Holliday? I love him!” Stacey Dash plays a great Dionne and seems to have a great chemistry with Donald Faison (Murray), although they spend most of the time fighting on camera. Brittany Murphy is “adorably clueless”, and great for the role of Tai. She looks innocent but packs a big punch behind her. Paul Rudd looks the part of Josh perfectly and it looks as if he wore his own clothes onto the set to shoot every day. Without the actors that were chosen to play these roles, the movie would be completely different and would not have the same feel or impact as it does now.

Direction plays a large role in this movie. Amy Heckerling takes viewers on the emotional journey of a teenage girl’s life, and she does it very well. Although the movie is done admirably, at one point about halfway through, the viewer may get slightly bored and wish that the movie was over already. Viewers are quickly taken out of that mentality and put right back into the middle of a rollercoaster life. Heckerling put in just the right amount of comedy to make this movie funny, but also enough thoughtfulness and love to make it heartwarming at parts. Although Heckerling has not directed many other movies or shows that I have heard of, she did a wonderful job with Clueless. Heckerling leaves viewers wishing she would have directed more films or TV shows. She instead decides to leave viewers hanging with barely anything else of notability.

The script is another remarkably important aspect of this movie. The witty lines that make viewers wonder, “Who in the world thought this up?”, make the script of this movie fantastic. Is it perfect? “As if!”, but it is close. The dialogue in the movie fits the time period (the 1990’s), as well as the teenage characters. The characters use many slang terms like buggin’, which sound right at home in the dialogue of this movie. The storyline of the movie moved smoothly and chronologically, which helped us to make sense of what was going on. One of the things that should receive the most credit is a plot twist at the end, which is not really as much of a plot twist as people make it out to be. If the audience is paying attention, they can come up with three or four alternate endings for the movie. Viewers get the hint that it is going to happen early on, but do not have their suspicions confirmed until a scene where Cher has a full-blown epiphany in front of a fountain. Not only is the script for this movie hilarious, it is also based off of a Jane Austen book entitled “Emma”, which makes it a fan favorite for many of Austen’s fans. When I say based, I mean loosely; although this book does share some similarities, the movie is not an exact replica of the book.

If viewers were to take a look at magazines from the 1990’s, the clothes that they would see would be exactly what they see on-screen in Clueless. The bright colors and eccentric patterns add to the craziness and hilariousness of the movie, as viewers would never dare wear clothes that bold today. Cher is a Beverly Hills girl, so of course, she is going to have the best clothes and be obsessed with them. When Cher is upset, she goes shopping. When she is happy, she goes shopping. When she is bored, she goes shopping. It is just a normal thing for her to do, and when she does not do it as enthusiastically as normal, people get suspicious. The yellow plaid ensemble at the beginning of the movie is slightly iconic and is even selected using a computer matching device. The characters in the movie care that much about their clothes, they have a machine match their outfits for them. Nonetheless, the computer does an amazing job of keeping Cher dressed to impress. If she would have dressed in jeans and a baggy t-shirt for the entirety of the movie, it would not have been the same. Jeans would not fit the style of the characters. If the wardrobe changed, I probably would not have continued to watch the movie past the first five minutes.

Lastly, the soundtrack of the movie fits it perfectly. The music is from the 1990’s, and it is what the teenagers of the time would listen to. There was just enough music within the movie that it was not overpowering, but it also did not leave us wanting more background music. The opening song that is played, “Kids in America” by the Muffs, sets the tone for the entire movie. It gives the message that the characters are just kids, living their lives and having fun. Most of the songs in the movie are relevant to what is happening in the scene, while others are just background music. Either way, all of the songs fit appropriately into the movie.

Clueless is a movie that should be watched by all females at least once in their lives, and males too, if they please. It encaptures the ups and downs of a teenage life and shows us that true love can come in all shapes and sizes. It also teaches us that we need to be less like beginning of the movie Cher (stuck up and selfish), and more like end of the movie Cher (kind and loving). Although this movie may teach us some life lessons, it can also be good for giving the viewer a laugh whenever they may be feeling in need of one. If a few things would have been slightly different, the movie would not have been as good, so viewers are lucky the decisions made by Amy Heckerling were made as they were. If they were not, then this movie would not have been as good or funny.

Again, Clueless is a great movie, with only one small drag in the story line. It allows those who have no clue what goes on in a teenage brain to see what teenagers think. Everything about this movie screams the 1990’s, which is perfect if viewers want a feeling of nostalgia. The comedic script keeps us giggling throughout the entire film. The not-so-plot twist at the end gives the movie a nice touch and might give the non-attentive viewers a bigger shock than that of those who paid attention throughout the movie. Clueless was funny in the 1990’s, is funny today, and will continue to be funny far into the future. It will also remain a classic movie for all to watch.