Review of Heathers (1989) by Abdullah A — 11 Aug 2009

"You want to clean the slate as much as I do, right? So maybe I am killing everyone in the school. Because nobody loves me! Let's face it, all right? The only place different social types can genuinely get along with each other is in heaven ... Seriously, people are going to look at the ashes of Westerburg and say, 'Now there is a school that self-destructed, not because society didn't care, but because the school was society.' That's pretty deep, huh?".

I remember high school very well. Of course, it wasn't too terribly long ago, but I have done a lot since then. The memories are persistently happy; I push to the back of my mind the fact that some of the most miserable days of my life were in high school. Those four years were also home to some of the best days, though, and when we came to the end, I didn't want to leave. Responsibility was right around the corner, and childhood was receding into a memory. For all the hassle, high school was the last pocket of freedom before "real life" started. And I also made some great friends there.

"Heathers," in my opinion, is the ultimate high school movie, not because it especially resembles my own experience (or that of most people, I hope), but because it pushes its extremely familiar characters to the limits of what they're capable of and, thankfully, rarely get around to doing no matter how often they think of it. This movie is black comedy at its finest, teaching us to laugh at tragedies. There's a time for crying, to be sure, but laughter can heal in amazing ways. I must tread carefully, because I can see how this movie could be offensive to someone who has lived through Columbine or other events like it. On the other hand, good comedy is bound to offend someone. As for myself, I am simply too happy with my life to not enjoy this movie.

The events of the story, as I said, are very unusual, but they flow from the realities of high school, particularly the nature of cliques. A high school cafeteria is all-too-often a patchwork of recognizable groups. In this case, the dominant clique of the school in question is referenced in the film's perfect title. Cliques discourage outsiders; the more that members choose to conform, the better. The dark, surreal nature of this film is hinted at right off the bat by the fact that members of the most popular clique all happen to be named Heather. That is, except for one, Veronica Sawyer, played by Winona Ryder. Her standing in the group is from the beginning tenuous, not just because of her name but also because of her curious unwillingness to help reinforce her clique's superiority. But things go generally the way they're supposed to until she becomes involved with a true outsider: Jason Dean, played by Christian Slater. Every name in this movie is evocative (Dean, aka J.D., rides around on a motorcycle); that fact should not be missed.

Most high school movies have a "warm and fuzzy" or nostalgic quality about them. This one is decidedly different. It practically swaggers with its own intelligence, and is far too cool to ever be sentimental. Ryder and Slater both do perfect jobs at fitting in with and helping create the film's mood. Neither has ever been better; they certainly have never had better material to work with, and their roles fit their personalities beautifully. Slater merges James Dean qualities with a Jack Nicholson-like voice to create the perfect rebel--irresistibly cool, and at the same time perhaps slightly insane (a fact that won't be obvious, at least for one character, until it's too late). Ryder's natural sweetness is helpful for establishing her character's sense of morality, but she successfully suppresses it in favor of superior intelligence that she uses as an effective weapon against the idiocy of those around her. Both actors utter their unforgettable lines with either earnestness or deadpan irony, depending on the situation.

Daniel Waters's script for the movie is one of my all-time favorites. There are so many great lines that I could easily spend most of my time here just quoting them. In epigrammatic style, some of the sweetest dialogue expresses the innate chasm between teenagers and adults, but it does so with a definite edge. The adults in the film are various forms of clueless, but once or twice they get at the heart of the matter with inescapable wisdom. Still, this is from the teens' point of view, so it often feels as if the adults are speaking a different language altogether. As for the students themselves, Waters gives them some of the sharpest, funniest, most ironic dialogue I've ever heard. It's a war of words that degenerates into another kind of war, and the film just gets more effectively outrageous as it goes on.

In a way, I probably like this film most of all because of, not in spite of, the fact that it's so different from what I remember about high school. It gets to the heart of the matter, stripping away all pretensions of decorum or the need to present a moral message of some kind; above all, it never feels the need to be too serious about its subjects. After all, the film is all about teenagers who take themselves and their problems far too seriously. Somehow, I have a feeling that in the distant future the problems I dealt with during that time will fade into absolute insignificance. However, it's nice to know I have the freedom to blow them up to Shakespearean proportions, even now, if only so I can laugh at them harder. This movie shows the way to do that.

"Heathers" has stood the test of time, the hardest test for any film to take. It survives because the realities of high school remain as they are from generation to generation. The film's presentation of each individual clique, and how they fit into the fascinating whole that is a high school, is perfect and acerbic. However much it shows its support for those who stand outside the system completely, the film acknowledges the fact that the system is what makes coexistence palatable. It certainly keeps the students well-adjusted, as opposed to the alternative. But it's still rewarding to see individuals thinking for themselves--plotting ways to throw everything out of whack, expressing their displeasure with both words and actions, and always finding new and interesting ways to light their cigarettes. The resulting film is a macabre, sinister joy to watch.