Clueless

Clueless

Quirky, funny and clever, Clueless is not often true to its title. It is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma and if you read the book you will be all the more amazed at how well Amy Heckerling – who is also on directing duty – adapted the early 19th-century novel to the late 20th century. Not only that, she taps right into the future. I always remember how I used to laugh at the scene of Cher and Dionne talking to each other on their cellphones while walking together down a corridor – and now people do that all the time! Yet regardless of its ingenious transfer to modern times, and an inadvertent glimpse into the future, it remains a glorious reflection of the ’90s through fashion, music and pop culture references, from Pauly Shore to Christian Slater.

This will always be the highlight of Alicia Silverstone’s career. She infuses Cher with just the right amount of cute and bubbly energy. As expected, she has “just totally clueless” moments, like mispronouncing Haiti (which was an actual mistake made by Silverstone that the filmmakers found so endearing they left it in); but Heckerling shows true regard for her main character. So even though Cher thinks Billie Holiday is a man and that Kuwait is in California, the bubblegum princess does get a chance to show up a would-be hipster who says that Hamlet proclaimed “to thine own self be true” when it fact “he didn’t say that. That Polonius guy did.” And by the end Cher shows true vulnerability and real heart.

The script absolutely sparkles with wit and imagination throughout, creating new lingo which cleverly draws on high art and pop culture. It offers up a plethora of characters, both affable and annoying, and relationships which offer a lot of the film’s quips, quirks, smarts and sass. For those who think the ’90s were a mere blip on the radar of the 20th century, the glee and guile of this film will always prove otherwise.

Originally published on Amazing Picture Box.

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