CLUELESS (1995)

CLUELESS (1995)

Tagline: Sex. Clothes. Popularity. Whatever.

(Comedy, Romance, As If!) [PG-13]

So okay, I don't want to be a traitor to my generation and all but I don't get how guys dress today. I mean, come on, it looks like they just fell out of bed and put on some baggy pants and take their greasy hair - ew - and cover it up with a backwards cap and like, we're expected to swoon? I don't think so.

When this movie came out I was only 4 years out of high school, so basically Senior in college age at 22. Paul Rudd was 26 when this was made and Alicia Silverstone was 19. There have been lots of great casts over the year for teen romance flicks, but this one had one of the best casts of its time. Needless to say, I felt right at home with this flick and was pretty close to everything that was going on except that I didn’t have a car like some of the characters in the movie and I certainly didn’t have a rich lawyer dad like Cher. I would have been the post-pot Travis in this. It might be because of these things that I have a huge affection for this movie. It also might be because I had cable when this came out and must have seen this freaking thing 40 times, just because it was on so much. 

The storyline revolves around the very popular Cher and her friend Dionne who are both pretty shallow deciding that there is purpose in life matchmaking. However, when they run into a new student named Tai they instantly decide that she needs help to get into the cool crowd. The effort to get her there has its ups and downs and just may end up in both of them discovering real love themselves. 

First off, there are virtually no lulls in this movie. I found the predicaments that these characters get into pretty hilarious and the language they use in the film only adds to how timeless the movie is. It reminds me a lot of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and MEAN GIRLS when it comes to just going full-blown into teenage vernacular. 

When we start talking about the talents involved, it’s interesting to see how some of these cast members turned out. I hadn’t really paid attention to anyone outside of Paul Rudd and knew that Brittany Murphy (who played Tai) is no longer with us. Stacey Dash (who played Dionne) might be best known these days for her conservative views, but she’s also continued acting quite a bit and 2 movies and a short coming out as I’m writing this. I mentioned the age of Alicia and Paul earlier, but Stacey was the oldest of the main cast members playing a teenager at the age of 29. Donald Faison (who plays Dionne’s boyfriend Murray) might be best known for the TV show “Scrubs”. These days he’s got 5 movies or TV shows coming out. Then we get to Alicia Silverstone (who plays Cher) she has 4 movies coming out so Stacey, Alicia, and Donald seem to be doing great, but Paul Rudd’s career is bonkers. Paul Rudd (who plays Josh) is ANT-MAN and definitely had his career blow up more than anyone else involved in the film. Unfortunately, while making this movie he was mugged and had his script stolen. 

The writing is pretty good and I didn’t find it overly crass like a lot of the films that came out in this genre. I am not going to say the movie is “wholesome”, I really didn’t get that out of it, but it is very tame comparatively speaking. This film is also on the "1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," list. As far as I can tell, there are very few if any other teen high school romance flicks on that list. There is a bunch of crap on it though, so take that with a grain of salt. 

This flick isn’t crap though. As stated earlier this is one of my favorites of these types of films and for me, it gets a solid 6 out of 7.

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