Review of Heathers (1989) by Melvin W — 11 Mar 2012

Veronica Sawyer: It's one thing to want someone out of your life, but it's another thing to serve them a wake-up cup full of liquid drainer. .

"Best friends, social trends and occasional murder.".

If you're a fan of black comedies this one is for you. It's dark, mean, twisted, and fucked up like a good black comedy should be. This is a teen comedy unlike any other teen comedy. This isn't about getting laid or smoking pot. It's so atypical even for today's standards. Actually I couldn't see a film like this even being made today. We tend to be a little hesitant about material like this now. Post-Columbine, I don't think this shit would have flown, but back in the eighties; this had to be funny in a way no other movie had ever been.

Heathers is the name of the "in" clique of girls at a small high school in Ohio. Three of the four girls are named Heather, all of which are bitches; the fourth is Veronica, and she seems to have a conscious to deal with. Veronica meets and begins dating a new kid, James, who shows her a new way to deal with the people who make her life and other kids lives miserable. .

I'm a huge fan of dark comedies, and typically the darker they are, the more I love them. Heathers is extremely dark. It deals with teen suicide, teen murder, schools being blown up, and other tidbits of high school life that are dark, but don't compare to the three previous listed. The material is handled with such care and intelligence. The film is very smart, with great dialogue and terrific characters. This may be my favorite performance ever from Winona Ryder. As for Christian Slater, he's good, but not quite as good as he was in another great dark comedy, Very Bad Things.

You should know before hand if you'll be able to laugh at this movie. Times have changed now and we're extremely cautious about being politically correct when it comes to the situations explored in Heathers. So if the themes bother you, I wouldn't recommend it. But if you can handle it, it's one of those films that's a must see.