Review of Clueless (1995) by Kate H — 05 Nov 2014

How have I not seen this movie before? It's so great! Sometimes after I see so many movies in a genre, watching an older one will be a rather unremarkable experience. Watching Animal House was a bit boring, after watching so many raunchy party movies, for example. But even though I've seen Mean Girls and Easy A and tons of other teen movies with superficial characters becoming more thoughtful and selfless people, Clueless was wonderful.

The two main things it has going for it, probably, are the script and the cast. I was surprised by how often I laughed during the movie. Seriously, I was laughing throughout the entire thing. All the language they used, like 'dope' and 'buggin,' might seem dated, but it fit in perfectly with the overall tone to the point that it just added to the humor of the movie. I don't really know how else to say this - the movie was just so damn funny.

The acting is another one of the main strengths. The supporting cast is loaded with funny people, like Donald Faison and Justin Walker (seriously, Justin Walker is hardly a famous actor, but he made a character that could've been one-dimensional hilarious with practically every body movement and expression). Brittany Murphy is fantastic in her role; Tai is so likable and relatable from her very first appearance. And Alicia Silverstone...what even is there to say about her? She's perfect. Cher is joining my long list of movie crushes. She's so funny, and even when she's being superficial, she doesn't seem truly mean at all. The romance with Paul Rudd's character worked so well because he started falling for her before her full evolution had occurred. Cher always had potential for real kindness and empathy; she was just a little clueless at the beginning.

But the main quality of the movie, I think, that made it so wonderful (and so perfect for my personal tastes) was that it was endlessly endearing, endlessly sincere. Cher could've come across as too cruel or irredeemable, but she was cute in her obliviousness and accidental snobbishness. Tai could've been a cliche of an awkward weird girl, but it was undeniably adorable watching her just dance by herself. Josh wasn't a LOSER at all, or an outright poor person; he was a well-meaning, average guy. Donald Faison's character could've been a misogynistic pig who Dionne dumped by the end of the movie, but he was surprisingly funny, and there was real heart to their relationship. Christian did turn out gay, but he wasn't stereotypical in any way. Some comedies might play the gay reveal then cast him aside for the rest of the movie, but instead he becomes a good friend of Cher's, and he fiercely defends Tai. Lastly, and possibly most importantly, there's Cher's father. Mel is, in some scenes, an extremely intense guy, the classic overprotective father. But in other scenes, he shows that there's a lot more going on beneath the surface. He has so much love for his daughter, and so much respect for her (the third-act scene with him giving Cher advice almost made me tear up). Almost equally as telling was one tiny flicker of humor as he watched Josh run to join Cher at the party, knowing all the while about the secret emotions going on under Josh's exterior.

This movie has so much more going on than it lets on. The characters are remarkably multifaceted in small, simple ways that are easily accomplished yet somehow fail to be recognized by other, less successful teen comedies. And throughout the whole movie, it has an endearingly sweet tone, one that kept me smiling throughout the entire running time.