October 05, 2017
'Clueless'
The Ringer's Juliet Litman, Amanda Dobbins, and K. Austin Collins pick out their trendiest '90s outfits and head to Beverly Hills to revisit the 1995 teen classic 'Clueless,' starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd.
Cast
Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz
Paul Rudd as Josh
Brittany Murphy as Tai
Donald Faison as Murray
Stacey Dash as Dionne
Jeremy Sisto as Elton
Justin Walker as Christian
Directed by: Amy Heckerling
Written by: Amy Heckerling
Notes
- Amanda and Cam have both seen 'Clueless' approximately 50 times each – it's one of those movies people can perform large portions of.
- Based on Emma by Jane Austen. 'Clueless' kicked off the trend of adapting classic English literature into teen high school movies (followed by '10 Things I Hate About You' from Taming of the Shrew, She's the Man from Twelfth Night, etc.).
- Alicia Silverstone didn't know how to pronounce 'Haitian' during the debate speech scene. Amy Heckerling heard it and said 'don't stop, don't tell her' – that was the take they used.
- Bronson Alcott High School got its name from a combination of Bronson Pinchot (Amy Heckerling was dating him at the time) and Bronson Alcott, the father from Little Women. When Heckerling blew up, Pinchot couldn't handle it and they broke up.
- The movie made $10.6 million its opening weekend and went on to make around $105 million total – hard to imagine a female-driven teen comedy making that kind of money today.
- Hollywood didn't serve Alicia Silverstone well after 'Clueless' – 'Batman' & Robin was a disaster. But the hosts agree 'Clueless' alone puts her in the pantheon.
- Brittany Murphy probably would have had the best career of anyone in the cast. May she rest in peace.
- Paul Rudd's sandwich-making in the kitchen scene is hilariously bad – he puts a paltry amount of mayo directly on the turkey with no other condiments. The hosts are horrified.
- GLAD gave Amy Heckerling an award for the Christian storyline, which was considered very progressive at the time – Murray reveals Christian is gay and it's not malicious, just matter-of-fact.
- The 'Clueless' TV show spin-off existed and the hosts have a pact to never discuss it further. It was bad.
Categories
Most re-watchable scene
- Juliet: Dionne on the freeway – a cascade of ludicrous disasters: the biker gang, the old lady flipping the bird, the truck, the screaming. Preceding it with finding out Christian is gay makes it a perfect five minutes of cinema.
- Amanda: The debate speech – 'And may I remind you it does not say RSVP on the Statue of Liberty.' Remains politically true. Capped off by that perfect shot of Cher pulling out her gum after delivering the last line. 'That should have been her Oscar reel.'
- Cam (runner-up): The first ten minutes – one of the best openings in any movie. The narration puts you in Cher's world perfectly, has ten iconic lines in the first five minutes, and the fashion computer program is incredible futuristic stuff.
What aged the best?
- The craft of the movie – 'impeccably made and it's still really good.' Most of the jokes hold up, there's no fat, and Amy Heckerling managed to make a satire that's also genuinely affectionate toward what it's satirizing.
- The fashion – the plaid outfit, the outfits in general are so upper crust that they're classic rather than trendy. The skirts are really short without being trashy, which is hard to pull off.
- Cher's kitchen – Viking range, granite countertops, double-door refrigerator. It looks like every HGTV show. Would only need some new cabinet handles.
- The adaptation itself – a perfect translation of Jane Austen's Emma that captures not just the ideas but the approach to clever, eternally true observations about the world.
What aged the worst?
- How teenagers interact – Elton having a photo that Cher took in his locker is quaint and silly by modern standards. The whole social dynamic would need reimagining for a remake.
- Cher and Tai doing a home workout video instead of going to class – they would definitely be walking out of Pure Barre or Pilates now.
- Cher being 15 (turning 16 when she fails the driving test) and ending up with Josh, her ex-stepbrother. The age dynamic is... muddy.
Casting what-ifs
- Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Michelle Gellar were both up for the role of Cher.
- Jeremy Renner was up for the role of Christian – 'who knows what Jeremy Renner's career looks like if he gets 'Clueless'.'
- Paul Rudd apparently originally wanted to play Christian, not Josh.
- Terrence Howard for Murray, Lauryn Hill for Dionne.
- Owen Wilson tried out for Travis. Leah Remini auditioned for Tai.
- Zooey Deschanel was up for both Amber and Cher – 'a very different movie' if she's Cher.
Best "heat check" performance
Donald Faison as Murray. Dionne is annoying and not that good of an actress, but Murray injects so much energy into the film that he ended up carrying the TV show spin-off.
Apex Mountain
- Alicia Silverstone – obviously. One of the great comedic performances of the decade.
- Amy Heckerling – wrote and directed a perfect teen comedy adaptation.
- Paul Rudd – 'his eyes are definitely at their best in this movie.' Juliet declares this is peak Paul Rudd in her personal universe, though his sustained relevance is remarkable.
Who won the movie?
Alicia Silverstone. 'She's the perfect avatar for everything Amy Heckerling wanted to get across.' So much of what's memorable about the movie – 'as if,' 'whatever' – would not be as iconic without her delivery. Someone wound her up and she just goes and nails it.