Image Courtesy of Amazon.com
Director:
Amy Heckerling
Cast:
Alicia Silverstone……….Cher Horowitz
Stacey Dash……….Dionne
Brittany Murphy……….Tai
Paul Rudd……….Josh
Donald Faison……….Murray
Elisa Donovan……….Amber
Breckin Meyer……….Travis
Justin Walker……….Christian
The Movie
Alicia Silverstone had all of the tools to be an A-list star for years to come in the early to mid 1990s. She rose to prominence alongside Aerosmith as her picturesque looks fueled the videos that brought them back into the mainstream. In what would be her peak, as opposed to the beginning of a long career as a top actress, Silverstone starred in Clueless. The film was supposed to be the triumphant start of a young, gifted actress en route to the top in the same manner that Pretty Woman made Julia Roberts a household name.
And it did, if only for a short time, as the projects that followed lowered her profile and out of the limelight. After a prominent role as Bat-Girl in the universally-acknowledged worst sequel of the Batman franchise in Batman & Robin, Silverstone remains the ultimate example of how a few bad career choices can derail someone who is the rare combination of looks and ability. Clueless remains, however, as a testament to what she could’ve been. And in the brand new “Whatever!” edition, the 90210 version of the Jane Austen book Emma still stands up as the best teen comedies ever made. And it’s not just a great teen comedy; it’s a great comedy and a great movie, period.
There are two reasons why it’s a great movie. The first is because of the writing. In a genre that relies on gross out gags and raunchy humor to get a laugh, Clueless is a film that relies on a much higher level of comedy to get the job done. It’s also easily relatable, crafting characters that are much deeper than seen in such classics as Road Trip. The way everyone is dressed, the way they walk, talk and act, everything they do makes sense and is there for a reason.
The other is the acting. In a genre not filled with great performances, this is one of the best casted teen movies of the past 20 years. The cast looks good, but isn’t chosen for that reason. They look good, but it’s also a group of really good actors with chemistry and timing with each other.
Score : 10 / 10
The Video
Presented in a widescreen format, the new version of Clueless has been cleaned up since its last release. The colors have been cleaned up and the picture completely revamped as well. A lot of special editions are merely retreads of past releases with a couple more featurettes; the “Whatever” edition is a far superior video than before.
The Audio
The same sort of detail to the video has been given to the audio as well. With a Dolby 5.1 surround, the soundtrack sounds excellent. For a movie that is an audio-visual smorgasbord, it is very well done.
The Extras:
The Class of ’95 is a retrospective about the film 10 years later. It’s interesting because we have on-set interviews form 1995 and interviews from the same people 10 years later talking about their characters and the script. They’ve assembled everyone involved, from the cast to Amy Heckerling, to talk about anything and everything about it. It’s amazing to see how the cast has changed and grown up since then. Including fun facts about the script and cast, this featurette runs around 18 minutes.
Creative Writing is a 10 minute featurette involving Heckerling discussing how Clueless was created. Initially thought of as a television series, Heckerling discusses how she thought of the film, what inspired her, and how she used the book “Emma” to craft her story. It’s interesting to hear about how the movie went from nearly not being made to the object of a bidding war.
Fashion 101 follows how the fashions of the film were created. With costume designer Mona May at the helm of the feature, the focus is how they use color and femininity to enhance the characters. It’s quite amazing to realize that Cher (Silverstone) had 56 costume changes in the film and they used 100 different outfits to mix and match. It runs around 11 minutes, and it’s all about how they created their own style from the grunge inspired fashions of the time. It’s obvious May and the production staff really loved their job and what they did; it radiates off the screen.
Language Arts is an eight minute featurette on the slang used in the film. Heckerling and the cast talk about the language that makes up the world of Clueless. It’s interesting to see the sort of detail used to develop slang for each character, how Heckerling allowed her cast to develop the slang as part of their respective character is a nice touch.
“Suck ‘n Blow” – A Tutorial is about the game played in one of the party scenes. It’s a cute little featurette about playing one of the few alternatives to “seven minutes in heaven.”
Driver’s Ed is a four minute retrospective on the driving scenes on the freeway with Dash, Silverstone and Murray.
We’re History is a cast and crew retrospective about the movie. It’s a look back by everyone about just what the cast and crew thought of the movie both back in 1995 and ten years later.
2 Theatrical Trailers
Score : 10 / 10
